They Gave Up Too Soon
by Hachico2012
Summary: Have you ever wondered what might have happened if Rin from Kakashi's original team mates had never died during the war? Are you a closet Obito/Rin shipper? This story is for you!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Obito's Death

Rin's POV

"Release!" I heard the voice of my comrade call out after being released from a torturing genjutsu. It felt like I had just spent a week in torture, but in reality it had been only a few hours. My abductors had been shinobi of the hidden grass, attempting to extract intel out of me. Somehow I was always the type to be taken hostage. I hated that aspect of myself. I was nothing but a burden on Obito and Kakashi. They were always the ones saving me. Even now, here they were in this cave, releasing the ropes I had been bound with.

"Kakashi...Obito." I managed to choke out, as their faces came into focus.

"We've come to save you Rin! You'll be alright now." Obito reassured me, and that's when I saw them. His eyes! They were blood red with small black apostrophe looking symbols on either sides of his pupils. They stared intensely back at me. Holy crow! Are those...Had Obito awakened his sharingan? And Kakashi...his left eye had been bandaged. What had happened that they had gotten to this state? Oh my god. This was all my fault.

"Alright, now let's get out of here!" Kakashi urged us, finishing untying me. I stood up, rubbing my arms where the ropes had been tightly binding me.

"I see...you two make a good team, but you're still just kids. Right now, you're in enemy hands." One of my captors spoke up, causing Obito and Kakashi to whirl around, gritting their teeth. The man did some hand signs and called out "Earth style: Rock breaker!" The ceiling began to thunder and quake and Kakashi looked at us both with widespread fear.

"This is bad! Run for the exit!" he exclaimed and without a word all three of us took off in a mad sprint for the opening to the outside. Halfway there Kakashi was hit by a large piece of stone and took a fall to the ground while the ceiling and walls showered down overhead and around us.

"Kakashi!" I shouted, stopping mid sprint with concern for my friend. Obito didn't even take time to think about it, he just reacted and immediately came to Kakashi's aid, picking him up and tossing him out of the way of an enormous looming boulder, saving his life but putting his own in jeopardy. I watched as the eyes of my closest childhood friend rounded with instantaneous and overwhelming fear before the boulder came down on him, crushing and pinning the entire right side of this body to the ground. I didn't realize what had happened for a few moments considering the rest of the place caved in and knocked me to the ground next to Kakashi. Once the area had stopped collapsing momentarily, I heard Obito's voice call out to make sure we were okay.

"Are you alright...Rin...Kakashi?" he asked us, his voice weak. Kakashi sat up and took in Obito's condition, pinned beneath the boulder, only his left side peeking out from underneath it. Obito's mouth was dripping with blood and I sat up as well, my eyes round with gut curdling fear. My stomach churning and I thought I was going to throw up. But I suppressed the urge, gasping in disbelief. Kakashi ran over to Obito and tried to push the boulder off of him, but it was so large in mass and weight that it wouldn't budge.

"Don't...It's okay Kakashi. I don't think...I can make it. My right side is totally crushed. I can't even feel anything…" Obito managed to speak out and I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. No..Not Obito. It just can't happen like this! My feelings for Obito were so great. I had loved him since we were small children. We used to play together and then when we grew older and started at the Ninja academy, I only applied there so that I could be with him. I had always guided him and supported him. I envied and admired Obito so much up unto this point, and I relished in the thought of him becoming Hokage someday. I vowed to myself that it was my personal goal to cheer him on along the way to achieve his dream...and maybe even someday, we could settle down together and start a family. But at this very moment, it was like my entire future had just quite literally been crushed before my very eyes.

"Dammit!" Kakashi howled, yelling at the sky, shaking with emotion.

"No...This can't be...Why?" I bellowed, cupping my hand over my mouth and trying not to lose it while tears escaped down my cheeks. Obito coughed and blood spray up out of his mouth like a miniature fountain.

"Obito!" I screamed, the teardrops falling on my dirty white overskirt. Kakashi fell to the ground and pounded his fist next to Obito in defeat.

"Dammit! Dammit! If...If only I had listened to you, and we had come to rescue Rin in the first place...This never would have happened!" He cried out. The thought of losing his rival...no, his friend, weighing in on him. "So what if I'm a captain? So what if I'm a Jonin?"

"Oh yeah...I had forgotten...I was the only one who didn't give you a gift..for becoming jonin, Kakashi." Obito spoke up, his hand twitching ever so slightly. "I was wondering what to give you, and I just had a thought." this made both Kakashi and I perk up, curious as to what he was going on about in such a state. "Don't worry...It's not some useless extra baggage...I'm giving you...my sharingan." he stated, opening his eye to look at him. "Whatever the village may say...You're a great jonin...that's how I really feel. So please, accept it!"

I jolted up, gasping for breath as I took in my surroundings. I was back in my room. The same room I had lived in for years. Another nightmare of the same memory on repeat for the last two years since I witnessed my best friend's death. My hands were cold and forehead sweaty. Tears flowed down and were partly drying on my cheeks, making the skin on my face feel like leather. I hated this. Every night, the memory of Obito's death came back to haunt my dreams. It was like his ghost was reminding me that he died because of me, and this torment was my punishment. I felt the aching in my heart begin to ebb and I pulled my knees to my chest and stared at the moon outside my window.

"Obito...I'm so sorry!" I whispered, wishing I could just see his face one more time. See him smile, run a hand through his thick dark hair, readjust his orange goggles and with a thumbs up he'd say, 'Rin! Just you watch, I'm going to be the hokage someday!' My god, I think the thing I missed the most was just being close to him and being able to see him blush when I took his hand. I was so sure he had finally started to really like me but...then again I guess none of that mattered now. I would never know how he felt about me. I missed him so much! "Obito!" I screamed into my knees as I sobbed harder. I just wanted him back. All of him. No matter what the cost. I just wanted my best friend back.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It had been two years since Obito had passed away. With the war still going on, everyone around me was so tightly wound, it was like a single word could make anyone snap. I, on the other hand, was still emotionally recovering from my nightmare from the previous night.

"Rin. Are you feeling alright today?" I heard the voice of the only teammate I had left. I jumped slightly upon hearing him call my name and turned to face him. I was heading toward the hokage's office to receive our orders for our next mission. We were supposed to infiltrate the enemy territory and for some reason I couldn't wait to get on with this one. It was like something was telling me I was destined for this mission. I wasn't sure what it was, but I couldn't wait to find out.

"Huh? Oh! Kakashi. You startled me." I stated, avoiding answering his initial question. I knew Kakashi could see right through me.

"Let me guess. You had the dream again?" his mono toned voice replied. The previous night where I relived Obito's death in my sleep was not the first time it had happened. In fact, I had the dream so many times that Kakashi was now able to tell when I was suffering the side effects of such an episode.

"Is it that obvious, Kakashi?" I asked him after a moment of silence, during which I found myself staring at Kakashi's left eye, where Obito's sharingan hid beneath his ninja headband.

"Rin...I know how you felt about Obito-" he began and I couldn't stop myself from snapping on him.

"Felt?! Don't you mean feel? I still love Obito!" I bellowed, "But you'll never understand what I'm going through Kakashi. You treated Obito like crap! All he ever wanted was your respect. I was the one who truly cared for him!" I had raised my voice so loud that a passersby or two were beginning to stare. Kakashi's one visible eye popped in surprise at my outburst.

"R-Rin...You've got it all wrong! Obito was my...He was my best friend Rin. I think you're the one who was oblivious to Obito's feelings. Not me!" he exclaimed, pushing past me as he headed toward the mouth of the stairs to the hokage's office. I ground my teeth at his backside and then what he had just said suddenly sunk in. I was the one who was oblivious to Obito's feelings? What the hell was that supposed to mean? I broke out into a light jog to catch up with my teammate.

"W-wait, Kakashi! I'm...I'm sorry. That wasn't fair of me. I know you loved him too. It's just...even though it's been two years, I still feel empty. Like my heart was ripped out of my chest. Sensei says time heals all wounds but...nothing is healing Kakashi!" I bellowed and he stopped in his tracks and turned to me, reaching out and wrapping his arms around my shoulders to bring me into a warm embrace. I hadn't realized I had started crying but my eyes were full of salty tears that stained Kakashi's shirt.

"I know, Rin...This isn't my business to tell but...there's something you should know about Obito and how he truly felt about you." Kakashi began but then several jonin rushed past us in a urgent manner, heading for the hokage's office.

"It looks like that's going to have to wait Kakashi. Let's go!" I exclaimed, dragging my sleeve across my face to dry my tear stained cheeks.

"Right!" Kakashi replied as we both broke out in a full on sprint to see what was going on. It had turned out our mission had been moved up due to movement on the enemy head. Kakashi and I were instructed to accompany the other two teams for backup and intel. We headed out immediately and I'm not going to bore you with the off topic details but during said mission, I was kidnapped again. I wasn't sure who by. My memory was a little hazy. But once Kakashi rescued me, I had already been made the three tails jinchuriki. I remembered the pain that came with such a title. It was like no other torture I had endured before. But I could feel the demon inside of me, and the battle to maintain control over myself ensued from within. I tried to tell Kakashi that I couldn't go back to the leaf with him. But he wouldn't take no for an answer and I had to make sure he got back to the leaf safe. I had asked him why he would risk his life to save me and he just replied with something that Obito had said to him on our last mission together as three. "Ninja who break the rules are scum, but those who would turn their back on their friends are worse than scum." I couldn't help but smile at such a gesture. Obito was always the loyal one, to a fault. Even causing his own demise. And then I was reminded once again that Obito was still dead because of me. And I refused to be the cause of another comrades death. So evidently, I gave into Kakashi's pleas for my return until we managed to get halfway back to the village.

We were ambushed by the enemy and Kakashi was fighting most of them off single handedly. I couldn't help but feel like everything was all my fault. Obito's death, Kakashi's possible demise for having to rescue me from my captors, (I had a real act for getting kidnapped) and the certain destruction of the Leaf that would ensue if I let Kakashi drag me all the way back to the village. There was no way I could let that happen. Nobody else was going to die on my watch today. I had every ounce of confidence in Kakashi's ability to survive and make it back to the village without too much damage. But my life would have to end here. I couldn't risk destroying my home. All because I was a useless girl who couldn't even save her one true love.

You know, now that I thought about it, it was kind of funny. How everyone thought I had feelings for Kakashi. I'll admit, at one point I had been swept away by kakashi Hatake. What girl in the Leaf village hadn't? But that was nothing more than a silly schoolgirl crush. I had loved Obito since we were children. And that wasn't ever going to change. I more just distracted myself with kakashi because I was in denial about my feeling toward Obito. I didn't want to ruin a lifelong friendship over my own selfish desires. Besides, I knew he probably didn't even see me as anything more than a friend. But even so, nothing could ever overshadow my love for Obito. Not even the shadow of death itself.

And seeing Kakashi fending off the enemy got me thinking. I was too much of a chicken to off myself. I knew this was going to scar Kakashi probably for life. Especially having lost both of his teammates. But it couldn't be helped. This was going to save the entire village from Isobu being unleashed to destroy it through me. The enemy had devised this plan to do just that. But I couldn't let them get away with it. I watched Kakashi carefully and calculated his moves just right, enough to spring forth and intercept a chidori blow intended for the enemy. Who better to end my suffering than Kakashi?

I smiled upon preparing to execute my suicide plan. Knowing that I would soon be with Obito again filled me with the utmost joyful feeling of wholeness since his death. I was going to die in order to save my village. But I was also going to be able to see the one I loved again, and be with him for eternity. As crazy as it may sound, I found true comfort in that.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Obito...I'm coming. Are you waiting for me?" I found myself whispering as I sprung into action and ran at full speed toward Kakashi and positioned myself just right in order to wedge myself between him and his opponent. This was going to hurt quite a bit. I knew that. But it would all be worth it once I got to the other side. But right as I slid into position, a shrouded man enveloped me in his arms and tackled me out of the way as Kakashi's chidori connected with his original opponent.

"Rin!" Kakashi exclaimed, turning his attention to my position on the ground, this cloaked oaf lying on top of me. I opened my eyes after having flinched from the impact of being plowed into the ground and looked up at my savior.

"No! What have you done, you idiot?! That was my shot at saving the village and being with O...O-Obito?!" I practically shouted in the guy's face as he hovered over me. His black hair was much longer, dripping with rain. And he looked older now, but there was no mistaking the one remaining sharingan that was staring back at me out a of a half disfigured face. This couldn't be real..No. Obito was dead! I watched him die!

"What the hell were you planning to do? Are you trying to kill yourself, Rin?!" the boy pinning me down practically shouted down at me. This couldn't be Obito...his voice was much deeper than I remembered. Then again, if Obito had survived these past few years I suppose he may have matured a little. But it just couldn't be him. Obito died that day on the Kannabi bridge mission two years ago. There was no way he was alive now, lecturing me about my martyr tendencies. This had to be some kind of trick. A genjutsu by the enemy, making me see my heart's innermost desire or something.

A black gloved hand perched itself rather firmly on the boy's shoulder and I heard Kakashi's voice through the symphony of down-pouring rain. "Who the hell are you? Let Rin go!" Kakashi snarled, hitting the boy in the face so hard that he flew through the air a few feet and Kakashi followed up by slamming him into the ground with enough force to crack the earth beneath them. The boy with Obito's face fell limp and ceased to struggle against Kakashi.

"Ka-kah-shi!" the boy sounded out in a choppy voice as he faded from consciousness. Kakashi's eye grew wide with shock once he was able to get a closer look at the perp's face. His hands trembled as he lifted his headband to activate Obito's sharingan. With his sharingan, Kakashi would be able to tell just who this guy was on a molecular level.

"K-Kakashi?" I questioned, getting up off of the ground and making my way over to stare at the ghost of our past. "Who...who is this guy?" I managed to ask him, my voice shaking as I came to stare down at the Obito look alike. "This is...this is so sick. Who would pose as Obito, Kakashi?"

"Rin...this is going to be very hard for you to believe but...I can't believe it myself." Kakashi began, his eyes intense as the color from his face drained.

"What is it Kakashi?" I asked him as my whole frame began to shake. I wasn't sure if it was from the eerie feeling that was churning my stomach, my efforts of controlling Isobu, or from the cold rain. But something inside of me was raging. I was afraid of hearing the words he was about to say.

"Rin this...this isn't a poser. This guy IS Obito! His chakara is polluted with that of another's, but it's definitely him. Rin...Obito is…" Kakashi began to explain and something in my heart ignited.

"Alive." I whispered as the rain continued to pelt down on our backsides.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"B-b-but that's...that's impossible! You were there too, we both saw him die Kakashi!" I exclaimed as my blood ran cold. I'll admit, part of me was so excited that I could cry. But the other part of me was skeptical and I couldn't allow myself to get my hopes up. Kakashi froze and then slowly turned to me and grabbed me by the shoulders, shaking me lightly, yet sternly.

"Rin! Whether you believe he's not truly Obito or not doesn't matter right now. Just what were you trying to pull, huh? Tell me Rin! Because it looked a lot like you were trying to intercept my chidori! Don't you know I would have killed you just then? Are you on some kind of self-proclaimed suicide mission?" Kakashi lectured me and I refused to meet his gaze while I took a second to collect my thoughts. He was so furious with me. I'd never seen him like that before. Not like this. His entire body was shaking and the color had drained from his face. He looked like he had just seen a ghost. Which I guess was understandable, given the circumstances.

"I...I'm sorry Kakashi...but it's the only way." I stated, looking up into his eye. Kakashi's one visible eye grew wide with terror. I had never seen that look on his face before. Not since Obito's supposed death. Kakashi paused for a moment and then pulled me into a warm embrace, which felt nice considering I was soaked from the cold rain. "K-Kakashi?" I whispered.

"We'll find another way Rin! I know Sensei can help seal Isobu and someone in the village can counsel you on how to control his power. There is ALWAYS another way Rin!" he exclaimed, pulling back to look me in the eyes again, holding onto my shoulders at arm's length. "Suicide is NEVER the answer! Not unless the orders come directly from the hokage himself. Do you know how messed up making me kill you would have made me?! Were you trying to leave me all alone?!" he bellowed and I couldn't help the oncoming breakdown I was going into. Hearing Kakashi say all of these things out loud really made me realize how selfish my heroic self-proclaimed suicide would have truly been. I would have saved the village from total annihilation for now, but I could have just plunged Kakashi down a dark path.

"I'm...I'm so-so sorry Ka-kah-shi!" I practically shouted in a hysterical matter through intermittent sobs. He placed an open palm on top of my head and he smiled in the only way that Kakashi could. With a happy eye close and utter silence.

"Come on, Rin. Let's take Obito home." Kakashi stated and I nodded, wiping my tears with my sleeve. Not that it mattered because I was completely soaked anyway. I was just so scared. I had never felt so much fear than in that moment. The entire journey home, I couldn't help but to be afraid of returning home. The thought that something going wrong and that I would hurt someone or still end up destroying the village. I was terrified that this boy Kakashi was carrying on his back wasn't really Obito. But if that was the case, why would he save my life? The only logical explanation was that he was engineered by the enemy to make sure I made it back to the Leaf so I could set Isobu free and destroy the village. And that thought scared me most of all.

"Rin...It's going to be okay." Kakashi spoke up finally after hours of travel back to the village. I stopped in my tracks and just stared at him. Kakashi came to a halt as well and raised an eyebrow at me in question.

"How do you know that Kakashi? I'm a ticking time bomb! I shouldn't be going back to the village at all." I explained as I approached him and took his hand after signing for my medical ninjutsu in order to heal his wounds. He had been injured during that last battle with the enemy. Actually, I'm pretty sure he busted his knuckles open on Obito's face.

"Then...Alright. You wait here with Obito while I go get Sensei and anyone who can aid in helping to seal and control the three tails." he stated, setting Obito's body down next to a small boulder under a canopy tree. I clammed up as soon as he said that and it was like a rock dropped in my stomach. He was going to leave me alone...with Obito? The boy I loved for so long but thought was dead for 2 years? And now I'm possessed by a demon that wants to destroy everything. Fate had a funny way of kicking me in the ass.

"W-wait a minute! You um...you want me to wait here, alone….with Obito? What if he wakes up?" I questioned, suddenly feeling incredibly nervous. Kakashi placed a hand on top of my head again and smiled with his one visible eye once more. You know, the Kakashi grin.

"Don't worry. If he wakes up, just treat his wounds and talk to him. He's still Obito. Maybe you should think about telling him all of those things you thought you would never get the chance to." he stated before taking off through the upper branches of the trees. Suddenly I felt my face grow hot with embarrassment. What the hell did he mean by that? "And try to find out where the hell he's been for the past two years! Whatever you do, don't let him leave!" Kakashi called out as he disappeared into the camouflaged treeline.

After Kakashi had left, I felt like I was in a daze. I made my way over to sit on the boulder that Obito had been lain down next to. I found myself staring at the boy next to me, watching his chest rise and fall with every breath he took. I wasn't really sure if this guy was Obito or not, but Kakashi had brought up a damn good question. If Obito had survived that rock slide, where the hell had he been for the past two years? What had he been doing that was so important that he couldn't return to the Leaf Village. Granted, the possibility of Obito having survived such horrible injuries are slim to none. Less than ten percent, in fact. He would've had to of had someone of great skill to replace or repair all of his damaged organs in order to be alive right now. Either that or it was a modern day miracle.

As I stared at the Obito in front of me, I couldn't help but to notice how much he had grown since that day. He had to be taller than both Kakashi and I by now. And even though the right side of his face was disfigured, Obito had grown into quite the looker. Not that he wasn't before. I had been crushing on Obito since we were little. But now that we were older, I was experiencing new feelings that I never thought were possible. Especially considering the circumstances, Obito's level of attraction was the last thing that I should have been thinking about. But I just couldn't help but to notice that as he laid there unconscious, older Obito was pretty hot.

About an hour or so passed and Kakashi returned with Minato Sensei and Inoichi Yamanaka. I stood up as they approached us and Sensei turned his attention to me, proceeding to give me a once over to make sure I wasn't injured. Inoichi knelt down next to Obito and proceeded to use his mind transference jutsu just long enough to decipher if who we had brought back with us really was Obito. This was it, the moment of truth. I was about to find out if this was truly Obito or just an imposter. Up until now, I hadn't really felt much about Obito's return. It jarred me at first. But mostly I had felt numb, not allowing myself to get my hopes up. Even though, somewhere deep down my emotions were oozing with anticipation.

"Rin! Are you alright? You haven't been hurt have you?" Minato Sensei asked me, pulling me out of my daze. I shook my head in response as my eyes began to sting with a batch of fresh hot tears welling behind them.

"Sensei I...I can't go back to the Leaf! Not ever…" I told him, refocusing my attention on my Sensei. He just let out a sigh and placed a hand on my shoulder, bending down to be eye level with me. He gave me a small sympathetic smile.

"Kakashi already told me all about it. Rin...I admire your dedication and loyalty to the village. But taking the easy way out is not always the best solution." he replied in a serious tone.

"But I'll destroy the village!" I bellowed, the tears that had begun to well up in my eyes finally slipped down my cheeks as I cringed from the thought. "I'll could kill everyone!"

"You could have, yes Rin! That's true! However, sending Kakashi to retrieve help with this situation was the right call. Rin...you don't have to die to protect the village. Leave that to the adults. Okay? Just because every ninja must be prepared to sacrifice their lives to protect the village is the Will of Fire, doesn't mean you can't exhaust every other option before you decide to throw in the towel." he told me and I opened my eyes to look at him. "I don't think Kakashi and I could take losing another team member. Thank god Obito was-" he stopped himself and then glanced over at the boy lying on the ground as Inoichi continued to shuffle through his memories. Suddenly, Inoichi stood up and looked over in our direction.

"Well...From what I can tell, these memories certainly belong to Obito Uchiha...But Minato...there is much to report about his life after his near death experience. We need to get him back to the Leaf in order for me to extract more information." Inoichi stated, hovering above Obito's body as he scooped him up and threw him over his shoulder and began walking in the direction of the village. "Hurry up and seal that one! We must extract this boy's memories before he wakes up." he added as he disappeared behind the distant treeline.

"Right. We're right behind you Inoichi!" Minato Sensei called out before turning to Kakashi who had been standing idly nearby. "Kakashi. Can you hold Rin down while I perform the sealing?" he asked him and Kakashi nodded, making his way over to me. "Rin. I'm sorry about this but I'm going to have restrain you. Kakashi is going to tie you up against that training stub over there nice and snug. Then he's going to put you into a meditative state with his sharingan. And Rin...this sealing is going to hurt. It's not a strong seal, but it will hold until we can put a stronger one on you once we get back to the village. I'm going to need a lot more chakara to completely seal a tailed beast. Whoever bestowed Isobu upon you initially set the seal to break easily upon command. I can do a basic sealing for now, but I will need help strengthening it further. " Sensei explained.

I swallowed hard in response, fear suddenly piercing through my heart. Kakashi's sharingan had a way of giving it's prisoners a false sense of time. On the outside world, it could only be mere minutes. Whereas inside the sharingan, it could feel like weeks. At this point, I was really wishing Obito hadn't interfered with my suicide mission. Kakashi took my hand and led me over to the empty stump in the clearing where many ninja of the Leaf came to train in confidence. He followed Sensei's instructions and tied me up rather tightly.

"Rin. I'm going to cast the sealing now. Just relax and allow Kakashi to suck you into his sharingan. You'll be under his sharingan's control for a while Rin. But don't worry too much. Once the temporary seal is complete, Kakashi can control what you see. However, once we reach the village, we'll have to officially seal Isobu properly. Which means that you'll have to endure some excruciating pain for a second time, but more intensely. You won't be tortured or anything like that in between though. So just try to relax and stay positive. Your reward when you wake up will be that you'll get to talk to Obito. So just try to hang in there. You're a good girl Rin." Minato Sensei explained, placing a hand on top of my head. Why was everyone doing that? Did they see me as some kind of kid?

"Rin...It's time." Kakashi stated, making his way over and placing a hand on my shoulder. "It's all going to be okay. When you wake up, we can be a team again. With all of us." he added, with a genuine smile in his eye.

"R-right." I replied, my hands beginning to shake. I was okay with ending my life several hours ago, but I had never been so scared in my life. I had no idea what being a jinchuriki meant. How was I supposed to live with this beast inside of me for the rest of my life? "But wait! Minato Sensei, isn't there a way to extract the tailed beast out of me? I have no idea how to be a jinchuriki!" I bellowed as I attempted to bargain for my own fate.

"If there was a way to do so without endangering your life or those around you I would say absolutely. But the unfortunate truth of the matter is that if we did such a thing you would not survive the process Rin. Every Jinchuuriki who has ever had their tailed beast extracted has died. Rin, I'm sorry. But this is just a burden and great responsibility that you're going to have learn to live with for the entirety of your lifespan." I swallowed hard and nodded in response. This was just great! I had to live the rest of my life as a freak!

"I...I see." I stated, my voice shaky. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to calm my nerves. "Okay Kakashi...I'm not ready. But let's do this!" I exclaimed, grabbing him by the wrist and dragging him over to the stump where I was to be restrained. If this was the price I had to pay to get Obito back, I would gladly pay it. I suppose I should have counted myself luck seeing as I didn't have to pay for it with my life. As much as I had wished for it to all just be over, I would follow Obito wherever he went. I was willing to follow him into the afterlife, I would be willing to follow him back into the mortal world too. Of course I know I never actually died or anything, thanks to Obito. But I would have gone through with it. I could have finally been at peace together with the one I loved, or so I thought. But since the circumstances had changed, I would be damned if I gave up now.

Kakashi tied me up snuggly so that I could barely move an inch. I looked up at him with a new determination. I was going back to the Leaf village and I was going to give Obito a piece of my mind for leaving me the way he did. I was also going to demand that he tell us where the hell he's been for two and half years! What was he doing? Why the hell didn't he come back? I had so many questions for him and I would be damned if I didn't live through this jinchuriki thing to get the answers I deserved.

"Rin...whatever happens in there...survive. For Obito." Kakashi stated as he positioned himself in front of me and placed both hands on my shoulders. Suddenly, a single tear slipped down my cheek as I smiled back at my comrade.

"For Obito." I repeated back to him before Kakashi's eye began to glow red with the burning intensity of the Uchiha sharingan.


	4. Chapter 4

**Before you start delving in the chapter, I just wanted to take a minute to thank my readers. I really appreciate the support from you guys. Ya'll are awesome! I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint! Please continue showing your enthusiasm for this story. Feel free to PM me and blow up my comment board! There's so much more where this comes from! :D Enjoy the chapter!**

Chapter 4

After the sealing of the tailed beast that now dwelled inside of me, I woke up in the hospital with Kakashi half propped on the edge of the bed. He was fast asleep and my entire body felt like it hadn't woken up with the rest of me. I could barely move my appendages. It seemed that the sealing and being under Kakashi's Sharingan had taken more out of me than expected. I guess it made sense now as to why I was waking up in the hospital.

My memory was hazy but I had just spent the equivalent of two long weeks inside Kakashi's genjutsu. When in reality it had only been a day or so. I would have to talk to Kakashi when I could physically move and speak in order to find out just when the hell we were. All I wanted right then was to see Obito. And even though I couldn't remember exactly what had happened while I was under, I remember a searing pain that started in my abdomen and spread throughout my body which lasted for almost a full week. The rest of the time I dreamt of Obito and the old team. I had relived memories for the duration of that time before I had woken up. Most of them were good memories, but a few of them were a little more challenging to get through. Some of them weren't even my memories, but Kakashi's.

There was one in particular that stood out to me. It was one of Kakashi's memories from Kannabi bridge when I had been captured and taken hostage. Initially, Kakashi was going to leave me and continue to carry out the mission. It didn't surprise me one bit. Back then, Kakashi was all about sticking to the rules. But I can't say it didn't hurt. And then Obito said something to Kakashi that seemed to strike a fire in him. He said, "It's true that those who break the rules are scum. But those who betray their friends are worse than scum!" It occurred to me that I was only rescued back then because of Obito and his ninja way. His devotion to his friends...to me. And then he nearly lost his life saving the both of us. We're alive today because of him. Damn it...we were going to wrack up a pretty hefty debt if he kept rescuing us all the time like that.

After about fifteen minutes I was able to regain my full range of motion. I sat up in my hospital bed and nudged Kakashi awake who awoke with a start. "R-Rin! You're awake!" he exclaimed, standing up and sitting next to me on the bed. I gave him a slight smile as he took my hand in his. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm doing okay so far. Kind of weak but I'll manage. Your sharingan is no joke Kakashi!" I exclaimed, rubbing the back of my neck. "Have you heard anything about the boy?" I asked him and he released my hand and just sat there, staring at me for a good long while.

"Rin...You've been out for three days. They investigated further and found that the boy who saved you on the battlefield was indeed Obito. The problem is that it seems like half of his body has been regenerated using an ancient jutsu of the First Hokage's. They're still trying to figure out how it's possible. And apparently Obito is being sent to the foundation in order to harness the new powers that come along with that." Kakashi explained and my entire body began to shake as I held back tears.

"S-so...it is him? It's really Obito?" I whispered, more to myself than to Kakashi. But Kakashi felt the need to answer anyway.

"Yes Rin. However...there's more one thing." Kakashi replied.

"Huh?" I questioned, wiping away the first tear that trailed down my cheek.

"I managed to overhear the hokage and his chief advisors talking about Obito. It seems Obito's been compromised for the past two years and rehabilitating from his accident at Kannabi bridge under the care of...who he claims to be Madara Uchiha." Kakashi finished and my jaw dropped in disbelief. I had heard the stories of the once great Madara Uchiha from long ago. But he should have been dead a long time ago.

"M-Madara Uchiha? How is that possible Kakashi?" I asked him, unsure of what was going on anymore. "And wait! You said Obito is being sent to the foundation right? Does that mean we don't even get to talk to him?" I bellowed, grabbing Kakashi by his shirt, balling the material up in my trembling fists.

"I..I don't know Rin. Probably not. The foundation has strict guidelines. It's likely we won't see him again for some time." he explained and my eyes grew wide.

"But that's not fair!" I exclaimed, tears streaming down my face as I shook Kakashi by his clothing. Kakashi seemed a little weary of my reactions. I didn't blame him. I was going off.

"Hey now, what's going on in here?" Minato Sensei's voice broke through my rage and I released Kakashi, hearing him fall backwards off of the bed. "Oh! Rin, you're up."

"Minato Sensei! You promised me that when I woke up I would be rewarded by getting to talk to Obito again! You can't go back on a promise!" I cried, getting up on my knees on the bed, about to run over to my teacher. Minato Sensei quickly made his way over to me and placed his hands on my shoulders to lower me back down.

"Now, now Rin! Just calm down. Obito is fine! He's agreed to meet with you both. The Foundation hasn't taken him into custody yet. You'll get to spend a limited amount of time with Obito before he's sent off for training. So whatever you two have to say to him, make it count. You've been granted another chance to say goodbye. Only, this time around, Obito isn't going to die. It'll just be for the next two years until he's harnessed the Senju's power." Minato Sensei stated after persuading me to relax a little.

"Take me to see him! I want to see Obito now." I replied, tears staining my bed sheets as they fell down my cheeks.

"I understand how you feel Rin. But you need to rest. Obito will come to you once you've been discharged from the hospital. Besides, they're still running some tests and interrogating-I mean...Obito's got his hands full right now." Sensei stated, letting out a sigh and turning to Kakashi. "Kakashi. Have you been here the entire time? You look exhausted." Kakashi nodded after getting up off of the ground. I suddenly felt awful for going off on him like that. It wasn't his fault any of this was happening. And plus, I hadn't realized he had been here by my side the entire 3 days I was out. He must have really been worried about me.

"Kakashi...I'm sorry. Forgive me for my outburst." I stated, bowing my head as much as I could to apologize for the way I had acted. Kakashi's eye popped and he took a step towards me, placing an open hand on my head.

"It's alright, Rin. I understand. I've been thinking about him too. But it seems we're both going to have to wait a little longer. Why don't you get some more rest. You won't be visited by Obito unless you're discharged." Kakashi told me and I peered up at him as he removed his hand from my head.

"You should go on home and get some rest yourself Kakashi. Rin will be alright now. Obito promised to visit you too, ya know." Minato Sensei suggested and Kakashi glanced from him to me with a reluctant stare. I let out a small giggle.

"It's alright Kakashi. I'll be fine. Thanks for worrying about me." I stated, taking his hand in mine and giving him a genuine smile. "Go get some rest. If Obito stops by, tell him I'd like to speak with him."

"Will do, Rin. You can count on me." he stated, winking at me as he took his leave. Minato Sensei turned his attention back to me.

"How are you feeling Rin?" he questioned and I looked back at him and paused for a moment, trying to assess my condition. I had been so worried about Obito that I hadn't really been paying much attention to physical health since I had woken up.

"Well...I suppose I'm okay. A little fatigued and sore, but I think I'll make a full recovery. I expect to be out of here by first thing tomorrow morning!" I exclaimed, pumping my fist in the air with convincing enthusiasm. Minato Sensei stared back at me as he pondered.

"That's a fantastic optimistic attitude you've got there. Just take it easy okay. I'd like to introduce you to someone who may be able to help you train and control Isobu once you're fully recovered. The war should be coming to an end soon since we were able to foil the enemy's plan to use you in order to destroy the village. Thanks to your rescue mission, we were able to seize control of the situation and gain the upper hand in this war. Once it's over, you'll be appointed to study under one of the three Sannin, Lady Tsunade." he explained and I couldn't believe it. I was going to study under Lady Tsunade? Her accomplishments in the current ninja war were legendary!

"I-It would be my honor, Minato Sensei!" I exclaimed, bowing my head to him to insinuate a respectful thank you. Minato Sensei simply chuckled at my enthusiasm and patted me on the head before making his way towards the door.

"I'll do my best to convince her to take you on as a student. Just make sure you're doing your best until then, okay Rin?" Sensei told me before he made his way out of the hospital room.

I was able to go home early the next day. The townspeople gave me a mix of sympathetic and disgusted looks as I made my way through the streets of the Leaf village. I tried to just keep my head down and ignore their judgemental stares. Apparently the stress of the sealing took a toll on my body. I was walking home on one crutch, with my other arm in a splint. Nothing was broken per say. Just some hairline fractures. But the regenerative power from the tailed beasts chakra that now flowed through me would heal my injuries twice as fast as they normally would. At least there was some kind of upside to becoming a jinchuriki.

I made it to my house finally but nobody was home. My parents and sister were all capable shinobi. So it stands that I would probably be living alone until the war was over. And nobody really knew when that was going to be. The word on the street was that the Leaf had taken the upper hand in the war since the enemy's plan to destroy the village with Isobu failed. Unfortunately I would not be allowed to enter the war again since I had just become a brand new jinchuriki and I had absolutely no idea how to control the tailed beast that dwelled inside of me. I made my way up to my room and propped the crutch against the wall and sat down on the edge of my bed. I let out a sigh, propping my foot up and taking the brace off of my ankle and stretching it carefully. My mind began to circle back to Obito and wondering where he was and what he was doing. I had so many questions to ask him and so many things to tell him that I couldn't organize all of my thoughts. I honestly didn't know how I was going to react when he showed up.

I grabbed my journal out and began writing down my feelings, trying to process how I felt about Obito's return. Of course I was overjoyed that he was alive still. But part of me was so very angry. I was mad that he never tried to come back. How could he just leave me-I mean...us. How could he just leave us in the dark like that? All of the nightmares, all of the sleepless nights. There hadn't been a single day since his alleged death that I had truly smiled. And yet, he was alive the whole damn time? Why didn't he come back? On top of that, he should have just let me kill myself. Everyone would be a lot better off if I had. Especially me. The tears began to well up and sting my eyes as I scribbled my thoughts down furiously. There was a new darkness in me that I felt festering from deep down inside of me. It was a darkness that I had never known before. As the first tear escaped and streamed down my face, only to hit the paper in my journal and smear the ink, I heard a familiar voice speak up from my window.

"Am I interrupting something?" Obito's voice struck my ears and I froze mid scribble, my pen trembling slightly. I turned around quickly, seeing him sitting on my windowsill with one leg propped up as he leaned against the frame. I guess I had left my window jarred open before leaving in a hurry for the last mission. I must have had this dream a million times in the past two and a half years...that Obito would return, and just appear in my room. Just like this.

"O-Obito…" I whispered, as my eyes landed on him. He was wearing all black clothing, his hair now cut back to around the length that it used to be. He wore a temporary eyepatch over the eye that he had given up to Kakashi almost 3 years ago. And for some reason he had this stupid grin on his face. What the hell was he smirking about? The anger inside of me compressed and then I just snapped. I stood up quickly and I made my way over to the window where he sat, ignoring the pain in my ankle in every step.

"Hey there Rin." he greeted me and gave me a crooked smirk. Before I could realize what I was actually doing, my hand flew across his face and I smacked Obito hard. Obito's one eye popped in surprise and he raised his hand to touch the cheek I had hit him on. His expression as he stared back at me reflected a great amount of hurt that was now written on his face. As I stared back at him and I had realized what I had just done, the tears that I had been holding back poured out like a fountain and I pulled him into my room, feeling the breath leaving my lungs. I threw my arms around his torso and buried my face in his chest.

"I'm...I'm so s-s-sorry!" I exclaimed, crying into his chest, my entire frame shaking. "O-Obito!" I cried, my knees buckling from the adrenaline and the pain in my ankle. Obito caught me and sat me down on the bed, getting on his knees so that he was eye level with me.

"You have to be more careful Rin…" He sounded so sweet...sincere almost and every part of me wanted to just forgive him right then and there, but I couldn't. His crooked smile came back as he touched his cheek where I had slapped him. It looked so red and absolutely pulsating with pain. "Well one thing's for sure, you've gotten a lot stronger."

"W-what happened to you? I thought you were dead Obito!" I exclaimed, wiping the tears away with my sleeve. "What have you been doing this whole time? Why didn't you just come back?" I asked him, my eyes burning from the tears.

He rubbed the back of his neck, looking so uncomfortable with the question, avoiding my eye contact as he looked around my room. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally sighed and looked up at me.

"I...I don't know how to explain all that happened back then, but believe me I really wanted to come back. More than anything else…" He looked so worried and lost almost. What the hell had happened and why did he seem so scared to tell me? Was he worried that I would look at him differently? Maybe even resent him?

"Obito...You don't have to be afraid to tell me. I'm sorry...for slapping you." I stated, bowing my head and looking down at my hands. "It's just...I'm pretty pissed at you for leaving me. I mean, us!" I quickly corrected my statement, my face growing hot. "Me and Kakashi...it broke us to lose you." I followed up, so that it didn't seem like it was anything more than the loss of a close friend. "Do you have any idea the kind of nightmares I had after watching you die?!" I exploded, automatically standing up again without thinking. And then the pain in my ankle surged immediately and I fell back down on the bed.

"I...whenever I saved you...that was the first time I was actually strong enough to get away from him...I…" His voice sounded wavering almost, as though he was holding back years of repressed emotions. "I didn't mean to put either of you through that much pain. I'm so...so sorry Rin."

I didn't respond at first. I just reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him down to sit next to me. I couldn't fight the urge to reach out and touch his face...the side that had been crushed beneath that giant boulder several years ago. It looked a lot better than I expected it to. I had to make sure I was really talking to Obito. I couldn't help the skeptic in me. As much as I had dreamed about having him back, real life isn't a fairytale. And people don't come back from the dead. But here he was...sitting on my bed in my room…

His face flushed red under my touch, placing his much larger hand on top of mine, "You know, this is something I never thought I would get the chance to do. Sit down next to you, talk...this." His voice dropped down quieter on the last part, almost stuttering as he was saying it.

My face flushed and I bit my lip, drawing my hand back rather suddenly as I realized what I had been doing. Damn it! I just couldn't control myself tonight. "S-sorry! I...It's just...it doesn't look so bad." I stated, avoiding eye contact. "And...I think you stole my line." I added, feeling as though he had just read my mind.

A flash of sadness seemed to flash in his eyes, but he slowly moved his hand down, glancing in the mirror at his face. "Yeah, it always surprises me as well that it's not worse. It's still pretty difficult to look at though. But what do you mean that I stole your line?"

"Obito...I relived your death...every single night when I fell asleep. And every time...I would try to do something different and try to save you. But nothing I did ever worked...and when I wake up...you're always still...gone. And I just...I just wanted you back!" I replied, more tears streaming down my cheeks. "And I thought I'd never see you again...actually, when you saved me. Initially I was pissed. B-Before I knew it was you. Because while I was trying to save the village, a part of me was so happy. Because I thought I might finally be able to be with-" I cut myself off, "...s-see you again."

His eyes widened as he realized exactly what I was meaning, doing his best to wipe away my tears with his thumb.

"Y-you were going to kill yourself...to be with me? But w-why? I mean, we were on a team yeah, but I...I'm not worth killing yourself for. You have so much to live for Rin!" His voice was cracking as tears actually began leaking from his eyes. He didn't seem to notice them at first as he couldn't seem to stop looking at me.

"We were more than just teammates Obito. We were best friends, remember? It's just...you were always the brightest sun in my life...and when you faded out...I was left in a cold and dark place." I stated as I broke eye contact with him. This was harder than I thought it was going to be. "It's...it's hard to explain." I whisper, not ready to tell him how I really feel about him. I thought, when I believed he was dead, that if I could just have the chance to see him one more time, that I would for sure tell him everything. But now that he's back...and he's alive and well, it was just something that I wasn't ready to face yet.

"I know...I remember we were best friends...it's been so long to have someone actually care about me. Sometimes it's rough to remember all the good in the world when I have seen so much...bad. I want to have time to fix everything with everyone...but sometimes I worry there will never be enough time." He finally realized that he was crying and wiped his eyes, sniffling as he cracks a smile. "At least I know that I can still do that."

"Oh Obito…" I replied as I smiled lightly at him and helped him wipe the rest of his tears away, "You were always the crybaby." I poked fun at him, letting out a small laugh. "But...you're leaving again...aren't you?" I asked, my smile falling once again. "Minato Sensei said you were being forced into the foundation. You're coming back this time right? How...how am I going to make it through another two years without you?" I questioned, my frame shaking slightly again. I didn't even want to think about making it through the next two years of my life separated from him again.

He looked down, thinking for a moment before looking up at me smiling. "Of course I'm coming back this time, I promise you! As for how we will make it through, maybe we could write letters? Kakashi will be going all over the place since he's joining the Anbu, right? Including the foundation?"

"Well...well yeah!" I replied, letting out a laugh, perking up a little. "I'm sure he'd be thrilled to be a messenger for our little love notes though." I stated, not realizing what I had just said.

"L-love notes?!" He blushes heavily, his eyes as wide as saucers. "I...I would really like that to be honest. Kakashi will be just fine!"

"O-Oh! I-I mean…" I began and then let out a nervous chuckle, rubbing the back of my neck, "i-it was a joke, Obito!" I exclaimed. "But...I'd really love to be pen pals." I replied, smiling up at him. "Just don't forget."

"A joke…right, but no, I think we can make due. One of us will just have to make sure to tell him that he's our messenger bird." He smirks at me and chuckles, "I nominate you!"

"W-why me?!" I exclaim, "F-fine...but only one condition." I accepted his nomination, looking shyly up at him.

He looked down at me curiously, "Why not you? And what is your condition?" He reached up and moved a strand of hair out of my eyes. My face turned hot almost instantly and I bit my lip, breaking eye contact with him.

"Will...will you stay with me...just for tonight? I don't like being alone." I answered, when in all honesty that was just an excuse. I was used to being alone. I just wanted to milk every second I could with him before he left again.

"I would absolutely love to stay the night!" He blushed as he realized just how over eager he sounded. "I mean...yeah, I want to make sure you don't get up in the middle of the night for snacks and get hurt again."

I let out a stifled laugh. "Wow Obito. You're so lame!" I teased him. "It's okay to be excited." I stated, my face turning red as I grabbed his hand and pulled him back down on the bed. "I've waited so long for you…" I whispered, curling up against him, not caring how it looked to him. If it weirded him out, oh well! He was going to have to deal with it!

He pulled me closer, being careful not to hurt me and kissed the top of my head. "I've waited so long for you as well Rin." The butterflies ran rampant in my stomach at that moment. I buried my face in his chest, my cheeks so hot that I thought it would burn a hole through his shirt. I couldn't help the little squeal that escaped me as I tried to muffle my reactions.

"I missed you...Obito." I whispered back to him, nuzzling against his neck. I couldn't stop myself from placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. "You really have no idea."

Obito's face turned crimson, reminding me of when small displays of friendly affection would cause him to blush. He leaned in and kissed me gently on the lips, pulling away and smiling. "Oh believe me, I have a pretty good idea because I missed you too."

"O-Obito!" I exclaimed, touching my fingers to my now tingling lips. My eyes had grown wide with surprise. My face just burned even brighter.

"Oh don't stop on my account!" We both hear from the window, looking over to see Kakashi sitting there, arms crossed over his chest smugly, and chuckling at what had just unfolded before him.

"Kakashi! Do you know how to use a door?" Obito exclaimed, incredibly embarrassed at Kakashi of all people finding us like that.

I reached over Obito and grabbed my shoe, throwing it in his direction. "What the hell Kakashi!" I exclaimed. "You're ruining my night with Obito!" I hissed at him. Kakashi easily dodged the shoe I had thrown at him and let out another laugh.

"You two are adorable." he chuckled.

Obito sighed, looking over at me and shaking his head. "I see some things never change huh?"

"As annoying as it is, I guess not." I laughed nervously. "What are you even doing here Kakashi? Creep." I poked at him.

"Just wanted to stop by to see if you kids needed anything...food, drink...protection maybe?" He chuckled, winking at us and Obito took the opportunity to throw my other shoe at him, once again getting dodged and sailing out the window.

"It...It's not like that Kakashi!" I exclaimed, twirling my hair in my finger. "R-right Obito? I mean...we were just…" I began but then couldn't come up with a good excuse. "Ohhh! I don't owe you an explanation. Go get my shoes!" I cried out, blushing so hard that it was starting to make me dizzy with how much blood had flooded to my face.

"I was just joking you two, I'm just glad you're finally admitting how you feel to one another." He smiles behind his mask, causing me to chuckle.

"Well now, it looks like we get to focus on getting someone for you!" Obito stated as Kakashi's eyes widen as he jumps out the window. Obito ran over there, yelling about getting Kakashi a girlfriend only to get pegged in the face with both of my shoes. "Oww! What the hell!?"

I couldn't help but to bust up laughing at the scene playing out before me. I was laughing so hard I was practically rolling. I had tears in my eyes once again, but they were more from laughter than anything else.

"H-hey...Obito? Are you okay?" I managed to breathe out through fits of laughter.

He turned around and had a nice sized shoe print on his face and he was pouting. "No, I need you to kiss it and make it better!" I stopped laughing in that instant and smirked at him, beckoning for him to come back to bed.

"Maybe I will." I stated, winking at him. Since the cat was already out of the bag. Or at least halfway.

He sat down next to me, leaning forward and waiting patiently for a kiss.

"Close your eyes silly." I told him, chuckling at his obedience. He closed his eyes and leaned in closer, his nose touching mine.

"Like this?" He says in a funny voice, wanting to make me laugh which he easily accomplished as I couldn't help but giggle. He really had grown up physically, but he still had that amazing sense of humor that attracted me to him in the first place.

"That's it." I state, calming myself down grabbing him by the chin and pressing my forehead against his. I pressed my lips to his once again, feeling every rush of emotion running through me as I did so. I slowly pulled back and looked up at him, trying to read his face.

His eyes fluttered open as he smiled at me sweetly and pulled me gently against him, letting me rest against his chest. "Thank you Rin, thank you so much for this…"

"No...thank you...Obito." I whispered, curling up with him once again. "Hey…" I say, smiling at him and hoping to freak him out a little just for the fun of it. "What if Kakashi was right about us needing protection?" I asked him, curious as to what kind of answer he would give me. As much as it was just a cutesy joke, he really was attractive. In every way. If I could have, or if I would have had the guts to do so, I wouldn't have minded losing my virginity that night.

He kissed the top of my head, smirking against my hair. "Well then, I certainly wouldn't take them from Kakashi. Who knows how long he's been holding onto them!" I let out a laugh and nuzzled up to him again.

"We really do have to find him someone...I think I might know just the girl. But um...Obito?" I asked, my face turning red for the thousandth time that night.

"What is it Rin?" He asked curiously, gently playing with my hair and not really letting me go. Almost as though he was afraid that I would disappear.

"I never thanked you...for saving my life. And for coming back...I...I lo-" I began to say but then stopped myself. What if he wasn't ready for the L word yet. I mean...what was I thinking? He had just gotten back.

He smiled, his hand resting on top of my head as he leaned down until his lips were level with my ear. "I love you too Rin, I always have. To be honest...I was a little worried that Kakashi had stolen you away from me by now. I kind of had the feeling that you were crushing on him back in the Academy days. As for saving your life, I will always do my best to protect you. I'm sorry that I haven't been in your life for so long, I wanted nothing more than to be here with you."

I didn't even realize it but a single tear slipped down my cheek as the butterflies in my stomach wreaked havoc once again. "I had a small schoolgirl crush on him once upon a time, sure. But it was nothing compared to my true feelings for you." I propped myself up and kissed him once more. "And, you must be mistaken Obito...you never once left my heart. You were always with me." I told him. "Just don't ever leave for good again...promise?" I hadn't realized it but I muffled those sentences against his mouth through the kiss, which caused him to laugh.

He smiled into the kiss and put his forehead to mine. "I promise you Rin, now you need to rest and in the morning I will make you breakfast ok? How does that sound?"

"That sounds perfect, Obito." I smiled into his chest and felt the exhaustion of the day creeping up on me as my eyelids grew heavy. "And you better be here when I wake up." I threatened him, closing my eyes.

"I won't be going anywhere ok? Nothing could pry me away from you, if I have a say in it!" He said softly and protectively, causing me to blush heavily.

"I...I didn't know you felt so strongly about me." I stated, my voice muffled slightly from talking into his chest.

He cuddled me closer, rubbing my back and laying against my fluffy pillows. "I could never really put it into words or actions before, now it feels like I have the confidence to do so."

"Well...I guess I can't blame you there. I've had the same struggle, being unsure if I should really tell you." I tell him, feeling myself beginning to truly relax for the first time in years.

"I'm so glad that we made some progress at least. I don't expect us to make it work overnight but I am glad for the opportunity." He nuzzles against my hair, inhaling and exhaling a few times and I feel his body fully relax against me.

"It's going to be hard...starting a relationship right before you're shipped off to the foundation. I wish...I wish I had more time with you." I tell him, feeling whole again, for the first time in a long time. And it was about to be ripped away from me the very next day.

"I know it will be difficult, but as long as I know that I have you to come home to...that makes everything worth it." He says, his voice much more gentle as he was exhausted from the day. I chuckle against him.

"You'd better come home to me." I reply, smiling into his chest. I reach up to touch his face once again, kissing him softly. "Let's get some sleep. You seem tired, Obi." I tell him, never getting tired of the feel of his lips.

"Always." He whispered against my lips and gently began drifting off to sleep, right there in my arms. I nuzzled back up to him and followed closely behind, receiving the first night of peaceful rest I had gotten in two and a half years. And for once, I didn't have that damned nightmare.


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors Note: Hey guys! I apologize for the late update. I know I've keep you all waiting, but I promise it'll be worth it! I hope you all enjoy the next couple of chapters. Thanks for staying tuned!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Naruto characters mentioned in this story. I do own Asuki. She is an original character of mine.**

**Keep the comments coming ya'll! Enjoy!**

Chapter 5

I woke up the next morning, expecting Obito to still be there but he wasn't lying in bed anymore. For a split second I panicked out of sheer fear that I had just dreamt it all again. It wouldn't have surprised me. But the minute I started to worry I looked over to see a neatly folded note on the pillow next to me. I reached for it and it read "Good morning Beautiful! Making breakfast like I promised. Come downstairs when you wake up. -Love Obi." I felt my face grow hot and my heart flutter as soon as I read it. And it was weird because every muscle in my body instantly relaxed all at the same time. It wasn't a dream! I hurriedly made my way downstairs and Obito had an impressive buffet spread out on the table. It smelled amazing but I rushed over to tackle him with hugs. I was just so happy that it was all real! The rest of the morning was spent laughing and reminiscing over old times as we sat down to eat together. But it was rather short lived since he was in a hurry to report to the foundation to start his elite training. We said our goodbyes and I watched him walk away until he was out of sight.

"Oh, is that your boyfriend?! He's absolutely precious!" I hear a familiar voice from my past exclaim. My eyes widened as I turned around, finding my childhood friend Asuki standing there in the flesh. She had grown up so much from back when we were kids before the academy, her vibrant red hair in a long braided bun. Her eyes were much brighter than before, a slitted pupil like a snake, then bright blue that faded into a darker purple around the iris. She went from wearing a lot of colors to wearing a long sleeve fishnet top as well as fishnet leggings that ended mid calf. A gorgeous and sleeveless emerald green wrap dress that ended at her upper thigh with some black shorts under that hugged her curves. Her tribal dragon headband was just under the shorts and wrapped around her mid thigh. She absolutely filled out and passerbys noticed as well as she was sitting on the top of my fence outside of my house.

"Asuki? Is that you?!" I exclaimed. My heart soaring even higher. I had both of them back? Okay wait… reality check! I pinched my cheek, making sure that it hurt before running over to her spot atop my fence. "Holy hell, you look hot! I mean...you're very much grown up from the last time I saw you." I stated, frowning as I looked down at my chest, comparing my blossoming buds to her melons. Then it occurred to me that she had asked me if Obito was my boyfriend. I stopped, thinking about how to answer her question. It wasn't really something we had put a label on yet. But whatever we were, I was okay with it. "And um...I-I don't know what you mean? We're just close is all." I stated, my face flushing as I tried to hide behind my hair.

She jumped down effortlessly, a few inches taller than myself and hugged me tightly against her. "Eh, this is more clothes than I'm used to, but with different climates it changes. And you two would be absolutely adorable together Rin! God, you grew up pretty hot yourself! Look at you!" She sounded so excited, glad to see her hyper and excitable nature hadn't changed from when we were kids.

"W-what? Me and Obito? I mean...well, I guess we do have something special." I stated, my face turning a darker shade of red than before as I thought about his kisses and the way he held me. And...I supposed we had confessed our love for one another. It was just so embarrassing to admit out loud. Not that I was ashamed of it...It was just that I wasn't used to being so bold as to wear my emotions on my sleeve. "And stop with that, I'm not much different. Not compared to you anyway." I stated. "God, how long has it been, Asuki?"

She bounced happily, clapping her hands together and every part of her jiggling...namely her chest. "Oh my goodness, that is so cute! I'm so happy for you sweetie!" She stopped and looked me over, turning me around a few times, "What are you talking about? You've grown up a lot!"

"You really think so? I feel like I might be a little taller, but mostly the same. I hope Obito sees what you see." I whispered the last part of that, hoping she hadn't heard me, but with her incredible hearing, she probably had. "Oh! I have something for you. Come upstairs to my room with me?" I invited her in. I had kept her Leaf shinobi headband for all of these years, and I had been awaiting the day that she returned to give it back to her. I motioned for her to follow me inside.

"This Obito guy would be absolutely blind if he didn't see how amazing and beautiful you are!" she states as she follows me, "And you have a present for me? But how did you know that I was coming back? Only the Hokage knew I was coming."

I let out a lighthearted laugh. "I didn't. I just have something you might like to have back is all." I stated, guiding her through the kitchen, the food that Obito had made us for breakfast still spread out on the table.

She snagged a piece of bacon and popped it into her mouth, her eyes lighting up. "Cooked to absolute perfection! Did he make you breakfast? And I'm so curious to what it is!"she giggled and smiled at me with a toothy grin.

I chuckled at her, "You never change, do you Asuki? And yes, he did. He's surprisingly a wonderful cook...among other things." I stated, my face growing hot once more. We made it up to my room and I shuffled through the top draw of my nightstand.

She plopped down on my bed, bouncing on it. "I didn't eat everything, I have some...self control! And ohh, among other things? Did you guys do the dirty?"

I dropped the box that contained her headband in it, jumping slightly after she had the nerve to actually ask me such a thing. What kind of girl did she think I had become? "W-w-what?! No! I mean we didn't….It was just a kiss...Or, you know, a few." I admitted, stumbling over my words. "Opps." I stated, bending down and picking up the headband that had fallen out of the box. I reached out towards her and extended my open palm to reveal to her the old Leaf shinobi headband that she had left behind before she went off to train in the mountains with the elites of her clan, who had established a small community up there. The Ryu clan were a group of dragon/serpent specialized shinobi who were able to channel the techniques of such creatures who allegedly existed in ancient times, long ago. There weren't many Ryu clan members left in the Leaf. But Asuki and her family moved here temporarily after her parent's homeland was destroyed many years ago. Since then, many clan members began to gather back in the mountains for specialized training and established a sort of sacred training ground for their future generations. But since a lot of the other members had dispersed to the varying villages where their element prospered the most, many of the families had decided to permanently settle in their perspective villages. Hence why Asuki had finally returned. I smiled up at her. "Remember this? I thought you might like it back." I told her, seeing the look of surprise on her face.

She teared up a bit as she took it and hugged it to her chest. "God, this is from forever ago! Thank you so much for keeping it all this time!" She hugged me tightly, her body shaking as she started crying a little. "I can't tell you how much I wanted to come home and see you."

I hugged her back, feeling myself tearing up a little. "So much has happened since you left. I planned on surprising you in the mountains with a visit but the time just got away from me, what with the war going on and everything. You know, come to think of it, I think right after you left is when I met Obito and Kakashi. Oh! They're my teammates." I explained, remembering that she had no idea who I was talking about.

She looked at me curiously, wiping her eyes a bit and smiling. "I have noticed that for sure! So much has changed for me as well...well my family. My brother Drakul got married and had a baby, I absolutely love my niece Libelle!" She stated and put her headband on her upper arm, touching the symbol."I can't wait to meet your teammates they sound like fun! But do you wanna come with me to meet the Hokage then maybe go out for food?"

"That's so great! I'm so happy for Drakul! Even though so many girls fell for him in the village before you guys left. I hope I get to meet your niece someday. Libelle, what a cute name!" I gushed, remembering her brother. He was quite the looker, every girl had a crush on Drakul. "And I'm pretty sure you'll find Kakashi irresistible." I stated, smirking at her. "He's exactly your type. Unless it's changed in the last decade?" I giggled at her. "But I would love to accompany you. We might just have to walk slow due to my injuries."

She giggled, "I think you were the only one immune to his charms, but no he settled down a lot. As for my type, I have been stuck around so many sticks in the mud, hopefully he will be a nice change!" She looked over my body, looking up concerned. "What ever happened?"

My eyes widened at the question. How was I supposed to tell her that a few days ago I tried to kill myself...and that I failed, and now I host the three tails? That wasn't something I could explain outright. "I-It's a long story. I'll tell you over lunch." I smiled nervously at her, afraid that once I told her she might see me differently. Come to think of it, I don't even think I had explained to Obito that I was a jinchuriki now. Hmm...that's definitely not something I can put in a letter either.

She nodded, linking her arm with mine. "I will hold you to that, but come on, can't keep Old man Hokage waiting!"

We made our way slowly to the Hokage's office. I won't say it wasn't a little painful considering my injuries, but it was so nice to have Asuki back that I didn't even care. We continued filling each other in, chattering on and on about every little detail until the other was satisfied with the knowledge. Finally we reached the Hokage's office and it was a little embarrassing because since there were so many stairs, Asuki had to piggy back me all the way up. It was just like old times. It was somewhat refreshing. I needed something to distract me from recent events.

"That was so much like old times! I missed it so damn much." She stated, giggling at me as she gently set me on the ground. She was so much like her older self during moments like this, but I could tell that she was much more mature than back then. "Shall we?"

I nodded and knocked on the door to the Hokage's office. "Come in!" came the reply from the other side. The Third Hokage was sitting at his desk, going through paperwork, never taking his eyes off the tasks spread out before him. "Good afternoon Rin. Who have you brought with you?"

She glanced around the room, taking in everything before her eyes settled on the Hokage and she smiled. "My name is Asuki Ryu, of the Ryu clan. I was summoned here a few days ago and just arrived in the village this morning."

The Hokage set down his paperwork and looked up finally, taking in the both of us. "Ah, yes! Welcome home Asuki! I think the last time I saw you, you were just a tiny thing. Well that must have been almost ten years ago! My, how time sure flies. However, I do wish it were under better circumstances. Unfortunately, times of war are unforgiving." the Third greeted her with a gentle smile. "Ah! Kakashi! Have you finished settling into the Anbu black ops?" he added, his eyes casting past the both of us. We both turned around, seeing Kakashi wearing all gray shinobi clothing with a red and white anbu mask over his face standing in the doorway.

Kakashi removed his mask and looked at me with concerned eyes, then replied back to the Hokage. "Yes, Lord Hokage. I've just finished my initiation...Rin, how are you feeling?" he asked me, his look of sympathy killing me. I glanced over at Asuki who was staring dead at him with a look of fascination that she used to adopt whenever she saw something that she liked or that intrigued her as a child. It was nice to see she hadn't changed all that much on the inside.

"I'm feeling a lot better actually, had a wonderful night sleep and got to be greeted by my life long best friend Asuki!" I said motioning over to her, noticing that she was no longer in that spot as I heard Kakashi let out a yelp. I looked over to find her dangerously close to Kakashi, her body leaned over his as she was trying her best to see under his signature mask he never takes off.

"Oh come on, it's just a little peak!" She whined, I could almost hear the pout on her lips as Kakashi looked like a deer caught in headlights and I turned my attention back over to see Lord Hokage blushing and covering his nose with a rag. I looked back over to realize that Asuki's dress has slipped over her butt and while she was wearing shorts, they were very tight and revealing.

"Asuki, come on don't scare the guy! And cover your ass will ya? You're going to make the Hokage have a heart attack." I chuckled, shaking my head as she practically shot up straight to pull the back of her dress down, turning around quickly to bow to the Hokage.

"I am so sorry about that Lord Hokage. I have been in the mountains for far too long and well, people outside of my clan fascinate me." She explained and I found myself feeling a little sorry for her. She had been out of contact with others for so long...I can't imagine what it must be like in her head right now.

He coughed, wiping his nose and blushing heavily. "It's perfectly alright, Kakashi doesn't scare easily so he will be fine." Kakashi gave him a surprised look, causing me to giggle. "Now, why I have invited you here is because your friend Rin will be unable to help out during the war going on due to her injuries, among other things. And you'll be taking her place on her team with Kakashi here."

We all looked at him in absolute shock, before looking to one another. Was he serious? Oh god, that'll be interesting to see her interacting with him every day. Kakashi looked as though he was going to lose it but managed to keep his usual calm, which was absolutely surprising. I'm sure he will rant about it later on to me in his free time. Asuki was just standing there absolutely confused, rubbing the back of her neck. From what she had been explaining to me, she had never worked on a team before and the thought of it absolutely baffled her.

She looked at me, worry crossing her features as she realized why she was brought in. She soon became a nervous wreck, because of her inexperience with teams and the thought of taking my place. It surprised me because she was actually showing some worry and vulnerability.

"Hey, it'll be okay." I smiled at her, hoping to ease some of her worries. "Kakashi is a good guy and a very skilled shinobi. You don't have to worry. He takes care of his friends. Right Kakashi?" I asked him and he quirked his eyebrow at me.

"I do...But I barely know this girl. However, I'll do my best to protect you, Miss…" he replied, extending the opportunity to be filled in on who he was partnering with. She just stared at him and then suddenly jumped.

"Oh! Asuki! Sorry…" she bowed to him. "And while I appreciate the sentiment, I'm sure I can manage. I know I can't possibly replace Rin as your partner on your team. But I will do my very best to accommodate for her absence." she vowed, becoming quite serious. Kakashi closed his eye and shook his open palms at her.

"No need for that! Just do what you can and try to keep up. We can't afford any miscalculations or wreckless moves this late in the war. But I think it would be a good idea to train together before we deploy on the battlefield." he suggested. "It was quite...interesting to meet you, to say the least." He stated, giving her a once over before shoving his hands in his pocket and exiting the Hokage's office.

She blushed, watching him leave before looking back to the Hokage and bowing to him. "Thank you so much for this opportunity Lord Hokage, I will not let you or the Leaf village down. Is there anything else I need to know before we're dismissed?"

"You'll train with Kakashi for a while before you deploy. For now, you have some free time to spend with Rin and enjoy the village. We're counting on you. You're both dismissed." The Hokage stated and we both bowed out and Asuki bent down at the top of the stairs so that she could piggy back me back down the steps. I let out a sigh and then a small giggle.

"You know, this is a little embarrassing when we're this age, now that we're older and all." I told her, getting on her back. "Sorry you have to baby me."

She shook her head at me, looking over her shoulder and smiling. "Nonsense, I know it's a little embarrassing, but you're like a sister I have always wanted. Besides, we will get to food much faster this way!" I chuckled, her metabolism was always going so she was always getting hungry, but it looked like she never really gained weight from it.

"You know, ramen from Ichiraku's sounds pretty good. Plus, you might be able to get a little less formal of an introduction from Kakashi if he's there. He usually goes there around this time of day for lunch. Although, it was quite hilarious to see you interact with him in front of the Hokage. He looked so concerned." I let out another laugh. "You were so close to his face, I thought you were going to kiss him." I joked with her, teasing a little.

She giggled more, getting a spring in her step at the mention of Kakashi. "I would never kiss on the first meeting! Besides, I wouldn't want to kiss through a mask. Does he ever take that thing off? Have you seen his face? What's underneath it?" She started asking the million dollar questions as we continued through the streets. Oh she was absolutely interested in him!

"Yeah, good luck with that mystery! I don't think a single person alive in the village today could tell you what's behind that mask. I guess it's something that you're just going to have to solve for yourself. I can tell you that underneath his slanted headband is...and this is going to sound odd, but he actually has one of Obito's eyes. And he's got a pretty wicked scar over it that I can tell you is pretty sexy." I chuckled at her vibrant interest in my teammate. I was just happy it wasn't the one I was madly in love with.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Asuki glanced back at me, gently rubbing my leg as we got closer. "It'll have to be one of those stories you tell me about later on then. If you are comfortable telling it that is, you know that I will never judge you for anything. And oh, I want to see the scar! That had to be difficult to do, let alone deal with." She said as we got to the ramen shop, her stomach growling loudly, causing her to blush. "Sorry!"

"Oh, don't worry about it! I'll buy you lunch, as a welcome home present." I stated as she set me down we took our perspective spots. Kakashi was already sitting at the table and I made sure to leave a spot in between us to force her to sit next to Kakashi no matter what. "And I'm sure Kakashi wouldn't mind sharing the story with you if you ask him about it. Right Kakashi?" I questioned him as he awaited his bowl of steaming hot ramen. Hmm, would we be able to see his face beyond the mask if he was eating? You'd think someone would have seen it by now if that was the case.

Asuki plopped down between the two of us, looking at Kakashi, I couldn't tell what her face looked like but Kakashi was blushing and she giggled. "Please tell me Kakashi?" Oh my god, she was such a flirt and it was hilarious that I had a front row seat to watch this unfold!

"What are you two going on about?" Kakashi questioned, glancing over at us as he glared at me for setting him up like that. Kakashi must really enjoy the sight of Asuki if he was mad at me for bringing her here to distract him during his meal.

"She was telling me about you gaining a specific kekkei genkai and that you got a scar from it, I was wondering since we are going to be partners, if you could tell me about it maybe? Or show me? If you're comfortable with that of course!"She states, glancing over the menu as her stomach grumbles again, causing her cheeks to turn red once again. "Sorry!"

"Someone sounds pretty hungry. Why don't you order extra meat in your ramen. I'll pay for the extra charge." he offered, smiling behind his mask, his eye closing happily, insinuating that he was amused by hearing Asuki's stomach growl. "And I don't know...it's not something that I typically show people outside of battle. But...since you asked so nicely." he replied, lifting his headband and revealing his other eye, Obito's sharingan glowing bright in its crimson color. "Hope it doesn't freak you out too much. It was a present from a close friend when I became jonin rank. Obito Uchiha. But I'm sure Rin's already told you all about him." he stated, winking at me after, pulling his headband back down to cover it once more.

She stopped him from pulling it down, touching it softly and smiling. "It's not freaky and it's a beautiful gift. I'm sure it was rough to deal with but it suits you quite a bit honestly. And I didn't get to meet him, but I got to see the lovebirds saying goodbye to one another this morning."She giggled, smirking at me and causing my cheeks to heat up, before looking back to him. "As for the ramen...I normally get four times the extra meat…"

"Oh my. That is quite a lot of meat." he replied as his own ramen was served, the cook setting it down in front of him. "However, I'm sure Rin and I can split the cost. Right Rin?" Kakashi called over to me. I just smiled back at him nervously in agreement. "And you'll meet him eventually. He's kind of stuck doing special training for the foundation for a while….Oh right, hey Rin," he called back out to me to get my attention. I leaned over to look at him curiously. "I hope you two used protection." he winked at me and I about died from embarrassment. Yup! He was getting me back for setting him up like this. He was on to my antics!

Asuki started giggling and looked over at me, "You both don't have to pay for me, I could manage that. And I don't know if they had sex, but they looked so damn cute together! Their babies would be adorable!"

My face was so hot it felt like it was melting off. Why did both of them hate me so much? "A-Asuki! I already told you that nothing happened, it wasn't like that! Besides, babies would be kind of difficult for me to handle given my recent circumstances." I stated, realizing I hadn't exactly told her that I was a jinchuriki.

She looked at me, worry creasing her brow. I was so worried about her opinion of me changing. I wanted to tell her, I needed to, but I was absolutely terrified of what she would say or think. "I know it's not what happened, I was teasing about that, but what do you mean? Are you ok?"

"I-It's okay. And sort of...I sort of...fell into an unfortunate permanent condition. And you might not like what I'm about to tell you. You have to promise me that you won't see me differently after I tell you...It's still hard for me to say out loud." I told her, preparing her to hear some of the hardest news she may have heard in awhile. "A-are you sure you want to know?"

She reached over, taking my hand and smiling at me softly. "Rin, whatever it is, it will not change my opinion of you ever. I promise you that. And whatever it is, I will help you through it as much as I possibly can. Cause that's what friends who are more like family do for one another. I'm not going anywhere Rin, whatever you're going to tell me will not change that."

I nodded, swallowing hard before mustering the courage to come out with it. "Asuki I...During my service to the war, while most people may come home with battle scars and PTSD, I managed to come back with something much worse. I am now the jinchuriki of the Three Tails, Isobu." I came right out and said it, unsure of how to word it any other way. I cringed upon saying so, reeling back and taking a small peak at her facial expression in reaction to the news I had just dropped on her.

She looked at me curiously, leaning closer and looking into my eyes, worry clearly evident in them. "It didn't hurt you did it? It won't? I felt like something was different with you, but honestly I couldn't place it." She was taking this calmer than I thought she would, which was honestly surprising.

"No...Isobu hasn't hurt me. Sealing him hurt a lot though. Hence the injuries. But the tailed beast inside of me is lying dormant for now, until I can figure out how to conjure and control his power. Although, I can have conversations with Isobu. I haven't talked to him much though. He doesn't really like me...or any human really. He was meant to be the Leaf's undoing. They knew the Hokage would send a search party for me once I was captured. So the enemy's plan was to loosely seal Isobu inside of me and then release him to destroy the village. That's how I ended up like this." I explained, and Kakashi cleared his throat.

"Yeah...she tried doing something stupid too. If it wasn't for Obito being there at that exact moment I would have-" Kakashi began to complain but then stopped himself, realizing he didn't exactly have the right to tell that gruesome detail.

She raises an eyebrow and decided not to push it, seeing as our food finally arrived and distracted her enough to drool at the massive bowl in front of her. "Oh my god, this looks and smells amazing! Wait…." She looked over at Kakashi then down at his empty bowl. "I...when...Oh come on!"

"Is something the matter?" He questioned, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I was quite famished." he explained, justifying his empty bowl. I let out a giggle and pick up my chopsticks, seeing Asuki do the same and start into her own bowl of ramen. She seemed to be starving and finished the bowl at lightning speed before setting the empty ramen bowl down and asking for seconds. Geez! Glad to see her appetite was still ravenous.

She looked over to Kakashi, pouting at him. "You ate all your food already and I didn't get to see your face!" She was not going to rest until she got a good look at his mysterious face. I couldn't honestly blame her. I know myself among others have always been curious about it.

He chuckled at her and patted the top of her head. "One of these days, if you're lucky, you may just get a glimpse." He winked at her and I looked at him in shock. Was Kakashi flirting back?!

Asuki grinned happily and bounced as her food appeared. "I'll hold you to that Kakashi, because I won't let you forget it!"

"Hey now, I said if you're lucky. We'll see if you qualify for that." he replied, throwing some money down on the counter as he hopped down from his chair. "Rin, do us all a favor and take it easy. Who knows if Asuki can keep up." he chuckled, winking at her again. Damn, he was definitely teasing her in an attempt to flirt. I had never seen him flirt in live action before! I let out a chuckle as Asuki responded.

"Oh I can keep up! Never doubt that in your mind!" She stated, eating all the food in her bowl and looking him dead in the eyes. "I could keep up with Rin on my back!" Wait, why was she bringing me into this?! Oh boy, Kakashi doesn't realize that her brother always challenged her and well...she gets very fired up about it!

"Oh yeah? Is that so? Care to put that theory to the test?" Kakashi challenged her and my eyes grew wide.

"W-wait a minute now! Don't drag me into this!" I exclaimed, blowing on my ramen to get it to cool down since it was still piping hot. "Why don't you guys find other training methods that doesn't involve me." I told them, swirling my noodles in the broth before taking another bite.

Asuki pouted and looked to Kakashi. "She just completely downed that idea! Like before it had enough time to have a chance! But I still wanna train...however shall we manage this now?"

"Hmm...I think I know a guy who can help with this. My self proclaimed rival has weights to slow him down. I'll see if we can borrow some." Kakashi stated, smirking at her from beneath his mask. Smug bastard. I can always tell his expressions by watching his one eye. "We can race from the training grounds to the foundation's facilities. That way we can assess your endurance capabilities."

"Oh! Right! Kakashi, I was supposed ask you for a favor…" I exclaimed, remembering that Obito had nominated me to ask Kakashi to be our messenger for our letters. I was unsure as to how I was going to ask him this. I supposed Asuki could be of assistants in that department as well. At least in helping me get my letters to Kakashi, since she'd be seeing him more often than I would now.

"Oh? What would that favor be?" He asks, looking over to me curiously as he batted Asuki away from trying to move his mask down. "Hopefully nothing life threatening right? Like you don't want me to swim down to the deepest depths of some ocean for something?"

Asuki looked at me in shock, "Are you sending people on impossible missions still?"

"Kakashi was just kidding about that Asuki." I stated, rubbing the back of my neck and swiftly kicking Kakashi in the shin. "No oceans this time, Kakashi. However...you'll be reporting to the foundation and the Hokage on occasion right? Since you're an anbu member now? Obito suggested that we recruit you to help us be pen pals while he's receiving exclusive training from the foundation. You'd be willing to help us out, right Kakashi?" I pleaded with him, giving him the puppy dog eyes that he simply could never resist.

His eyes widened as he realized what I was doing. But by the time he realized, it was too late! He gave me a big exaggerated sigh and smiled at me from under his mask. "Yes I will be your messenger between you and your Obito! Just don't expect me to send them full of...you know." He chuckled, winking my way and causing me to blush heavily.

"F-full of what, Kakashi?! What kind of girl do you think I am?" I questioned him, seriously confused on what he meant by that. I raised an eyebrow at him and crossed my arms over my chest. I really wanted to know what he was getting at.

He chuckled and shook his head at my reaction. "I was just playing Rin, I know you wouldn't put a bunch of naughty things in there for me to innocently send to my best friend!" He stated, patting the top of my head.

I blushed and refused to respond to him as I continued shoveling ramen in my mouth. Kakashi's and Asuki's eyes grew round with shock. "Geez, of course not! That would be...that would be...so wrong!" I finally stated after getting all of the naughty thoughts about Obito out of my head.

Asuki shook her head and chuckled at me. "If he doesn't want to be the messenger, I won't mind doing it. It would be really cool to get to know your boyfriend or potential boyfriend. Whichever label you want to use for yourselves. As long as you're happy and he doesn't hurt you, I won't have to kick his ass!"

I giggled at her, feeling myself relax. "How about the both of you work out a system to take turns doing it. That way nobody gets burned out too quickly. I'd use a messenger bird but most of those are being used for the war. I appreciate all of your help." I stated, feeling upbeat again and kakashi turned to Asuki.

"I'm sure we can do that. Wouldn't want to give you an excuse to see my best friend too often. It'd be nice to see him occasionally since he's not dead anymore." Kakashi blurted out. Oh boy! Here comes the questions.

She blinked rapidly, looking between the two of us in absolute confusion. "Um...since he's not dead anymore? Am I missing something?"

"Rin never told you that her new boyfriend is a zombie?" Kakashi questioned, completely seeming serious. He was totally trying to prank her.

She stared at me in absolute concern. "Rin, why is your boyfriend a zombie? And why is he an attractive zombie? I'm very concerned!"

"Kakashi! That is not funny!" I scolded him, putting my hands on my hips. "He's not actually a zombie. Remember that long story I was going to go into detail about later? It's got something to do with that. See, Obito almost died two and a half years ago on a mission. Half of his body was crushed beneath a boulder while trying to rescue me...It was all my fault. And then the whole place collapsed and we had no choice but to leave him to escape ourselves. That's how Kakashi got Obito's eyes. We just recently found out that he's still alive. I'll explain things better to you later." I tried to shed some light on Kakashi's horrible joke. I didn't think he meant to offend me. It was kind of funny, but I wasn't going to let him know that. "And wait...you think my boyfriend is attractive?" I asked Asuki, blushing as the word boyfriend fell out of my mouth.

"Well, I mean I didn't get to see his face but from what I could see of him he was nicely built. Definitely seems to be your type that is for sure, I know you two would be an absolutely amazing couple!"She has always been like this, searching for a very positive outlook and seeing the good in most people.

I smiled at her. "That means a lot to me Asuki...Kakashi, take a hike! You can sniff Asuki's ass later." I told him, wanting quality time with my best friend. I saw the way he was fawning over her. And he thought he was being discreet, checking her out in front of me.

"See you tomorrow for training Kashi?" She smirked at him, batting her eyelashes at him and his cheeks turned the brightest red I have ever seen them. "Unless you would like to join us for shopping and tons of girl talk!" She knew exactly what to say to scare him off right away.

"N-no! That's quite alright! You kids have fun!" He exclaimed, heading towards the street but stopped, looking over his shoulder at Asuki, "I look forward to our training session." He stated, winking at her. If I wasn't already in love with Obito, even I would have swooned over him in that instant. I knew Asuki was writhing inside.

Asuki was blushing up a storm and grinning like a mad man as she watched him as he left. She looked at me bashfully and fanned herself. "He is so attractive!"

I chuckled at her fawning over my team mate. I knew she would be into him! What girl in the Leaf wasn't into Kakashi Hatake? But that also meant that she was going to have lots of competition. However, Kakashi didn't usually show interest in many girls as far love interests go. He usually just read his smut and was satisfied. "Well he's definitely interested in you too Asuki!" I told her.

Her eyes widened as she looked at me in shock. "Wait, how can you tell? I mean, I'm not the prettiest and I'm sure he's probably got girls fawning over him." She sounded absolutely nervous and it was really adorable.

"He doesn't flirt with girls like that. He's usually more the cool and silent type. But he was definitely messing with you quite a bit. You'll just have to find out for yourself. However, you're going to have a lot of competition, that's for sure. But I'd say you already have an advantage." I replied, winking at her. "So, what's this business about shopping and girl talk?" I pressed.

She laughed, fidgeting with a strand of hair that had come out of her bun and looking at me. "If I have learned anything about living with my brother, you can scare most men away with those two things. Though both sound really fun right about now!"

"That is very true. And I'm game if you are! What do you want to shop for?" I asked her, carefully stepping down off of the stool I was sitting on, having finished my meal. I paid for both of our lunches and said goodbye to the shop owner as we made our way back out on the streets. "I know a few shops that have some cute clothes and another one that has equipment and ninja tools. Want to explore both of them?"

She nodded, crouching down so that I can get back onto her back. "Both of those sound like a lot of fun! After this though, you probably should get some rest. I just realized I didn't even buy a place to stay while I'm here."

"You're probably right...and Oh! You don't have to buy a place. Why don't you stay with me for a while? My parents are off fighting the war. So I'm living alone right now. It would be great to have you stay with me and help out while I'm injured." I suggested, hoping she'd say yes. "Plus, it would be a lot of fuuuun!" I enticed.

She grinned and smiled at me, "I would love to stay with you! I was just worried about being in the way or annoying you! But it'll be just like old times and all of the times we would stay up all night and go watch the stars!"

"That sounds like a lot of fun! Oh, can we do that tonight? It would be nice. Because I need some good times in my life. The last few years have just been mostly horrible...Actually, it's been hell. So it's nice to have you back." I confessed, getting onto her back. "I hope I'm not too heavy for you."

"Rin, you are absolutely not heavy at all and I would love to go out and look at stars like old times. And I'm...really sorry I wasn't around. Believe me, if I could have gotten away, you know I would have. My family has had so many expectations of me and sometimes it just felt like it was too much."

"I know Asuki. You don't have to apologize. But I can't say it hasn't been hard without you. Now, onward toward cute clothes and ninja tools!" I exclaimed, pointing in the direction of the stars, getting pumped up. It seemed like the nightmare was finally over. My own personal hell was coming to an end. I was still alive. I had my best friend back. And I had the love of my life back from the dead. The war would be ending soon. It seemed as though things were looking up.

Asuki giggled and moved off in the direction of the shopping district, towards all the cute clothes and ninja tools! "So we should find a super cute outfit for you whenever you get to see the love of your life again!"

"That won't be for another couple of years Asuki." I chuckled. "But we can work on something for you." I teased her. "I'm sure Kakashi would like to see you in some cute mission gear." I stated, seeing her blush. "But you know...I hope that when I get better, maybe I could sneak off and see Obito in secret...But I don't want to get him in trouble."

"I'm always in the market for new mission gear!" She giggled excitedly, rubbing my leg and looking at me. "And I will absolutely help you meet up with him! Oh a secret meeting under the moonlight! Ugh candles, maybe a picnic!" She blushes as she realizes she's been rambling. "Sorry, it would just be so adorable!"

I let out a laugh. "Asuki, are you sure that's not something you want?" I asked her. She sounded like she was daydreaming about being romanced. "Maybe you and Kakashi can stand watch for us." I added, trying to get her to open up about it more.

"It is something I would love and everything, I just spend so much time reading books." She blushed heavily and stopped at a shop window. "I am sure we could do that for you guys, just to keep you both out of trouble. And this is the place right?"

"Yup! This is the place! And wait...books? Oh don't tell me you read those smut books too?" I questioned, blushing from thinking about Kakashi's books. I read a small escript from one of them once and had an instant nosebleed.

"Hey they have amazing stories and life lessons!" She defended them and blushed. "I have always wanted to meet the author, ask him about his inspirations and what not. Don't tell me you haven't read them!?"

"N-no. I can't say I've read them...But Kakashi is obsessed with them." I told her, stifling a laugh at the look that she gave once putting me down after going into the shop. There was a little rack in the corner of the shop that had the cutest clothes.

"Really? Kakashi reads them too? That's...really surprising actually. He doesn't seem to be the type that would read that kind of stuff." I grinned back at her.

"Yeah, Kakashi's kind of a big closet perv. Don't let his cool guy act fool you." I told her.

She chuckled, shaking her head a little bit. "I guess you can never really tell about people can you? But seriously, they are amazing books and have amazing attention to detail. I have been trying my damndest to find the author to have him sign my copies." She admitted as she continued looking at the clothing, shifting through the different colors.

"You know, I happen to know the author somewhat. If you'd like, when he gets back from his assignment in the war, I could take you to meet him." I told her, remembering being introduced to Jariya, one of the three Sanin of the Hidden Leaf. He was Minato Sensei's Sensei.

Her mouth dropped open as she grabbed onto my shoulders and shook me excitedly. "Please, pretty please?! I will be forever in your debt for introducing me! That is so cool, how did you meet him?"

I smiled at her excitement. "He's my Sensei's old Sensei. Minato Sensei introduced me to him a while back. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's how Kakashi got into them." I stated, throwing my arms up in surrender.

She jumped excitedly, bouncing and clapping her hands together. "That is seriously so cool, you get to meet the most exciting people. I wonder who my team would have been or my sensei...that would have been awesome to know. Or the missions I would be going on...sorry I'm rambling." She stated as she picked up a light blue outfit, holding it up to her. "What do you think?"

"If you don't buy that, I will buy it for you." I tell her, picking out a matching hat to go with it and putting it on her head. "Gotta complete the look!" I exclaimed with a giggle. "Also, from what I hear, Kakashi likes Redheads in blue dresses." I wink at her. I actually wasn't sure that was true, but what guy's weakness wasn't a redhead in blue?

She blushes heavily, holding it up to herself and looking in the mirror. "It does look pretty cute doesn't it? I will definitely get this and maybe a few more things, what about you? What are you going to get?"

"What me? Oh no! I have no use for cute clothes right now. I'm a cripple. Plus it's not like I have anyone to wear it for." I told her. "But I'll definitely help you look."

She shook her head, giving me a look. "Sweetheart, you don't need a special person or occasion to dress up or wear something cute. We will find something for you as well! Oh, how about this little red outfit?" She asks, holding it up to me and smiling.

"You...really think I would look good in red?" I questioned her, biting my lip as I looked at it. "Well...it is cute." I stated, taking it from her and putting it up in front of me. "What do you think?" I asked, looking back up at her.

She grinned at me, "Honestly, it suits you so well, but then again you would look good in anything. But if you don't get that, I will buy it for you!" She was stealing my line! How dare she! I chuckled at her reaction as she put the hat that goes with it on top of my head. "There we go, complete!"

I laughed at her spunkiness, "So...you said you think Kakashi is attractive right? How ever are you going to concentrate during your training with him?" I asked her as we made our way to the pay station to purchase our outfits.

She shook her head, smiling at that thought. "I have worked primarily with men, most of which were very attractive. But I've had enough training to focus on a task at hand rather than how attractive his is. The question is, will he be able to concentrate?"

"Kakashi is a pretty serious shinobi. But then again, he hasn't exactly trained with attractive girls before. I guess we'll have to wait to find out." I chuckled, remembering some of our old training regimens before Obito's accident. Those two were always fighting. "Kakashi does have quite the haughty perspective of himself, however. Just don't let him get to you if he tries to get under your skin." I tell her, unsure of how Kakashi would act during their training.

"I mean, how did he concentrate when he was against you? You're beautiful as hell! He had to have some strategy against it?" She asked after we got done paying for everything and started heading for home.

"Honestly, I just don't think I'm Kakashi's type...Besides, Obito is his best friend, I think he didn't want to infringe on anything. I guess to him I was just off limits." I replied, attempting to walk on my ankle a little. If I babied it, it was never going to improve.

"I guess that makes sense...I really am happy you found someone Rin, you seem so happy and that's something I have always wanted for you." She said softly, as she slowed her speed to match mine.

"T-thank you, Asuki...To be honest, I didn't know how I felt about Obito until he was...well gone. Does that make me shallow?" I asked her, looking up at her and stopping for a second to rest my ankle for a bit.

She shook her head, looking around at the people passing by. "It doesn't make you shallow. I'm sure the feelings were always there, but you didn't realize it until it was too late. I'm just glad you both get a second chance."

"Yeah...I don't even want to imagine what might have happened if things hadn't turned out this way. It's really terrifying to think about." I stated, beginning to move towards home again. "So when does your training with Kakashi start?"

She thought for a moment and stopped, "You know, I honestly have no idea. I don't think he specified at all when we were going to be training. So I guess it'll be when ever he comes to me and says that it's training time."Oh boy, that's if he doesn't get lost on the path of life from his house to mine.

"You know, knowing Kakashi he won't be around a while. He's usually a bit leisurely these days. It might be more productive if you went searching for him instead." I explained, thinking about how much he had changed since Obito's alleged death.

"So where do you suggest starting?" She asks curiously, as we finally made it back to my house. "I mean, it won't be until tomorrow, because tonight is for us!"

"I can give you directions to his place tomorrow. For now, let's just go inside and have a nice girl's night and try on our outfits." I said as we came up on my place and headed inside.

She sat all of our bags down onto the chair and glanced at the leftover food from breakfast. "I'll clean this up for you, you go and put your feet up ok? You don't want to overdo it and make your injury worse, which will take it forever to heal."

"That's true...Are you sure, though? I can help a little." I ask, feeling so helpless. I hated feeling like I couldn't do anything. I've always been the weak link. And now my best friend was going to have to take my spot in the war because of me.

She looked over her shoulder and nodded, "Sure you can, if you want to you could put the food in containers and put the dishes away once I get them done? How does that sound?" She asks, cocking her head to the side.

"Okay. Sure!" I stated, going over to the cupboard and grabbing down the containers to put the leftovers in. I was glad that she was allowing me to be of some use. I started transferring them over while I watched Asuki run the sink full of water and started cleaning the dishes as I handed them to her. I smiled at her backside, glad that I had them both back. Her and Obito were the best things in my life at that point and time. And I was ever thankful to the universe for giving them back to me.


	7. Chapter 7

Asuki

It had been almost two years since I came back to the leaf by summons of the Hokage. I had been reunited with my childhood best friend and was living with her. Sadly, Rin's parents never made it back from the Third Great Ninja War. I just didn't have the heart to move out after we found out her family wouldn't be returning home. But we had gotten through it together. Not long after I had joined Kakashi as Rin's fill in, the war ended and things seemed like they had started to get back to normal in the Leaf Village. I had met our Sensei, Minato. The Yellow Flash of the Leaf was no joke! He was incredibly skilled and went on to become the Fourth Hokage not long afterwards. When Rin had fully recovered, she began her personal training with Lady Tsunade and reached jonin level medical ninjutsu status and was able to rejoin her team. I had been officially adopted into Rin's team. I partially felt somewhat wrong about that. Like I was replacing Obito. But they reassured me he wouldn't mind and that the four of us would be a team if the situation ever arose. I was officially at home in the Leaf Village once more.

"Rin! Have you seen my kunai pouch?" I called out to my best friend who was upstairs in her room. I was running late to meet up with Kakashi for a one on one training session. I cracked a smile, remembering our first training session from when I first returned and agreed to fill in for Rin. Since then we had worked out a sparring training session once a week to keep each other on our toes.

_It had taken about two and a half hours to find Kakashi, who was standing in front of a memorial stone. I stood behind him quietly, wanting to give him the space he needed and waiting patiently. After a few moments, he turned around and looked at me in shock, before it turned to a smile. _

"_About time, whatever took you so long?" He asked curiously, causing me to look at him with an exasperated sigh. "What?"_

"_I have been looking for you for almost three hours. I have practically torn the village apart looking for you! You didn't exactly give me any idea as to when we were going to train!" I pouted and relaxed my body, unsure of what was going to come. _

_He chuckled, shaking his head at me. "Well you found me didn't you? Did you want to do race or do a mock battle?" _

"_Honestly, I wouldn't mind doing a mock battle." I stated after a moment of thinking of what I wanted to do. "Mock battles were a great way of seeing how your opponent handles stressful situations and what techniques they use." _

"Rin? Are you still asleep? I was supposed to meet Kakashi ten minutes ago...then again, he will be later than I am." I muttered the last part as I went upstairs to find Rin, knocking on her door.

She initially just grumbled and I heard her rolling in her bed. I knocked again and then when there was no response I just decided to walk in and I grinned at her cuddling her body pillow. She giggled in her sleep and I decided to go mess with her as I approached her bedside and grabbed a quill feather from one of her pens on her nightstand and lightly tickled her neck with the tip. She giggled again and blurted out "Mmm, Obito, stop iiiit!" I clapped my hand over my mouth to keep myself from bursting out laughing.

I did it again, gently pressing against her side that was up just to see her reaction. All I knew was that I was going to have to tell Kakashi about this when I finally got out to meet him.

She wiggled her entire body and laughed. If I had been drinking something in that moment I would have done one hell of spit take in response to what she said next, "Ohhh Obito, you can touch me there anytime!" I couldn't hold it in, I started laughing so hard that she jolted awake and looked at me super concerned. "WHA! Asuki...what the hell?" she questioned, looking at me like I had lost my damn mind. She was correct.

"Oh my gods, you were having a naughty dream, weren't you? About your boyfriend?!" I was rolling around on the ground, laughing uncontrollably. "Oh that was great, I really needed that so much!"

"H-Huh? I was what? What are you talking about Asuki?" she questioned, her face getting red instantly at the mention of her boyfriend. "I...I wasn't-" she dropped off, avoiding eye contact with me as she began to remember the dream she was just having.

I began telling her exactly what happened and what she was saying in her sleep, sitting up and looking at her from the floor. "So, would you like to tell me exactly what you were dreaming about with Mr. Obito?"

"I...I'm a woman with needs Asuki." she stated, biting her lip. "You should know all about that. Seeing as you tango with Kakashi every week just for an excuse to have bodily contact with him." she teased me, turning the attention off of herself. Or at least trying to reflect it back on me.

I pouted at her, poking at her feet that were out from underneath the blanket and watching her laugh loudly from getting tickled. "We do not tango! It is strictly just training! Kakashi has been such a stick in the mud lately. I have no idea what has been up with him."

She chuckled at me, "Maybe because he's sexually frustrated." she stated, "With you prancing around in front of him for the past two years, I don't blame him for being crabby." she stated. "You know he tells me things right?" she added, getting out of bed and stretching.

I joined her in stretching, helping her whenever she needed assistance and looking at her curiously. "What does he tell you? How come you didn't tell me? And hey, I have given him so many signs that I want to be more, but somehow he hasn't gotten that yet!"

She chuckled at me again, "You know, I would have told you but Kakashi kind of made me vow not to...All I can tell you is that he says the same thing about you. But Kakashi is clueless. You'd think he'd know how to treat a woman after reading all of those books for so long." she commented and looked at me, "Why are you in my room anyway?"

I pouted at her and laid on my back, stretching my legs. "Well, I was trying my best to get your attention because I need my kunai pouch. But then well I got distracted by your little talking bit." I bit my lip, looking at her worried. "So...is there interest there or am I just being silly?"

"Asuki...he definitely is interested. He just doesn't know how to express how he feels. Kakashi isn't exactly the romantic type. And he's never had a girlfriend before. Just give him some time. I know he'll come around. If you want, I could talk to him for you." she replied, searching through her dresser for my pouch. She had borrowed it the day before and had forgotten to give it back to me.

"I mean...what would you say? God...I don't think I have ever been this nervous about anything in my life. I'm sorry if I'm annoying about it!" I hid my face in one of her pillows, groaning in frustration. Why? Why is he having this affect on me?

She scoffed, "Please, you're talking to the girl who almost didn't tell the boy she was in love with how she feels after coming back from being 'dead' for two and a half years. Trust me, I get it. It's incredibly nerve wracking. As for Kakashi, I can just tell him that he needs to make his move soon, before someone else snatches you up." she explained, smiling at me as she handed me my kunai pouch.

I stood up, taking it from her and giving her a huge hug. "Thank you Rin, I...I hope that helps because I want him to realize how much he means to me. This is crazy, god I want to just grab his face and kiss him...Sorry!" I was so embarrassed at how antsy I was being about him.

"That might be a difficult maneuver with that pesky mask." she giggled at my frustration. But don't worry. I'm sure he feels the same way about you. Maybe you should make it blatantly clear to him. Why don't you try asking him to hang out. You know, outside of training." she suggested with a genuine smile. "There's no way he'd say no."

I blinked rapidly, "W-what would we do, hanging out? All we normally do is train and go on missions...I mean we can go get ramen. Seriously how do you and Obito manage to find things to talk about and not be awkward about it?"

"I mean, I haven't actually seen Obito much since he's been isolated in the foundation for the past couple of years. So talking is kind of all we have right now with the letters you and Kakashi send back and forth for us. So I don't know if I can be of much help in that instance. Especially since Obito and I have a long history together. But you guys have things in common. Why not try talking about the books you're both into?" she suggested.

I blushed heavier, picking the book out of one of my pouches. "I mean, that's entirely possible. But what after that? Gods, I feel so hopeless even though I read these books!"

I opened up the book, fidgeting with the pages as I looked at Rin, handing her my book and giggling. "Read it!"

"Y-you want me to read smut?" she questioned, blushing slightly as she stared at it terrified. "And just be yourself with Kakashi, Asuki. He already likes you. Just open up to him and be a real person instead of the shinobi he's already acquainted with." she told me with a supportive smile.

"Yes I want you to read a fantastic book!" I giggled, placing it into her hands. "And I will try my best, I just hope he likes the real me."

"Fine. M-maybe I'll see what it's all about. And I know he'll fall for you Asuki. If he hasn't already." she giggled at me. "Shouldn't you be going? You're going to be late for your tournament with Kakashi."

I looked out the window, my eyes widening. "Shit, I'm going to be so late!" I state giving Rin a quick hug as I head outside quickly to our training spot.

"Don't worry Asuki, late is on time for Kakashi!" she called out after me as I sped off to meet up with Kakashi at the training grounds. I must have been zooming because everything was a blur the entire way there and I couldn't remember much of the trip out there. I finally made it to the training grounds and glanced around for any sign of Kakashi. Sadly, Rin had been right. Kakashi still wasn't there.

I sighed, sitting on the ground and pulling out another copy of the book I gave Rin, getting lost in the pages while I waited for Kakashi to get there. I found myself unable to concentrate on it, wondering what Kakashi's favorite parts were of the book.

"Enjoying chapter 8?" Kakashi's voice spoke up from two feet in front of my face and I jumped, dropping my book only to see Kakashi hanging upside down from the tree branch hovering over my head. Kakashi chuckled at my reaction and dropped down from the tree, landing in front of me and picking up the book he scared me into dropping. "You know, a Ninja should never let their guard down." he stated, quickly glancing over the part I had been reading. "Ahhh yes, that's one of my favorite scenes too."

"Ninjas are not supposed to get lost on the path of life either!" I retorted swiping it from him, blushing heavily as I put it into my pouch. "Honestly, it's one of those scenes I can't ever forget!"

"Yeah, sorry about that." He stated and rubbed his neck nervously. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting. And maybe I was just trying to keep you on your toes. Which you failed horribly. But I can't blame you for being immersed. That scene is iconic." he replies. "Have you gotten to chapter 10? That's the best part of the whole series."

I giggled, booping him on the nose with my finger, "I've read the book quite a few times, so I would say so. It's definitely a fantastic part!" I exclaim, unable to stop blushing at us talking about the book.

"I have to admit, I knew you were into the books, but I didn't realize how die hard you are. I didn't really take you for that kind of girl, Asuki." he teased me, winking as he made his way across the field. "Are you ready to do this, or what? I have the next edition waiting for me at home. You know, the one that's not out in stores yet." he had to rub it in my face.

My eyes widened as I looked at him in absolute shock. "How did you get that copy?! I have been waiting forever for that!" I was hard core pouting as I came up to face against him.

"Did you forget that I'm Master Jiraya's number one fan? Plus, he's like my grandfather in Sensei form, since he was Minato's sensei and all. That makes me the grandson he never had. I get first dibs on every edition." he winked at me once again, trying to make me jealous and it was working so hard. I glared at him as he adopted a fighting stance. "Ready when you are Red."

I smirked at him and adopted a fighting stance. "Winner gets to read it first and buy lunch!" I stated, disappearing and reappearing behind him.

He dodged immediately with a substitution and vanished. "Sounds like a date." his voice spoke up from behind me as he pointed the tip of a kunai at my neck from the side. "But I think I have a better idea."

I managed to slip out from his grip, shedding my jacket and revealing a tight tank top and my training shorts. "What's your better idea?"

"If you win, you get to keep my copy. If I win…" he trailed off, advancing on me and firing combination attacks so fast that I barely was able to evade them. I dodged his chidori but just barely. Damn! He was serious tonight! "If I win, you have to read it with me. Oh, and dinner for a week." he finally made his demands and I couldn't help but to blush at what he was wagering.

I let my dragon like wings sprout out, flying up into the air and firing off some attacks from above. "You have yourself a deal Kashi Hatake!" I winked at him and put my hands on my hips. He was able to dodge my attacks and zipped through the treeline, throwing chakra charged ninja stars at me.

"You've just given me the perfect incentive to try harder." he stated, charging me in the air and using his chidori to knock me out of the sky. I didn't even see him coming as he took me down, following on top of me as he held me down and lifted his headband to reveal his glowing red sharingan. He was planning on putting me into a genjutsu to win this? Damn, he was desperate to win this match. Maybe Rin was right?

Then it occurred to me, a smirk crossing my lips as I wrap my legs around him, lifting us up with my wings. I took the opportunity to pull his mask down to see what was underneath, keeping him trapped with my legs. "Two can play dirty Kashi!"

His eyes grew wide with surprise and I about dropped dead from how fucking gorgeous he actually was underneath his mask. I must have dropped my guard out of shere shock because he was able to get out of my grasp and pull his mask back up immediately. "That wasn't part of the deal, Asuki!" He exclaimed, appearing behind me, grabbing me by my waist as he slammed me against the ground and pinned me with my arms above my head while he straddled me.

I blushed heavily, my heart beating faster than I have ever felt it in my life. "Oh but it was so worth it. Kashi you're so handsome! I don't get why you hide it!" I exclaimed, blushing heavier. "Which I said out loud. Oh God!"

"I have my reasons for wearing it...for which I don't expect you to understand. However…" he stated, "I think I win this one." he finished, allowing me to get up as he offered his hand to help me up off of the ground. "Wait...did you just call me handsome?" he questioned, running a hand through his snow white hair.

I bit my lip, walking over and grabbing my jacket. I looked back at him and smiled, "I don't know Kakashi, did I? And I'll let you win this time!"

"You're pretty easy on the eyes too, you know. How come you're still single?" he asked me, coming over and helping me with my jacket. That was a statement I never thought I'd hear him say.

I blinked repeatedly, "No one has asked me honestly or showed interest." I shrugged, not wanting to admit that I had been waiting all this time for him.

"Well then, everyone is a fool. I'm pretty sure you'll be able to live your own paradise someday." he states, referring to the books we read. "Now then, how about I buy us some dinner? My treat." he replies. "And since you like it so much, why don't we go back to my place so you can steal a glimpse at my handsome face some more?" he winked at me, teasing me quite a bit.

My mouth dropped open as I was absolutely sure that my face matched my hair. "O-ok, that sounds absolutely amazing!" Rin was not going to believe this at all. How was I going to even begin to explain this!?

"Cool. I'll make you dinner instead. Sounds more personal." he stated, rubbing the back of his neck again. I bit my lip, unsure of how to respond to everything that was happening tonight. "H-hey Asuki…" he prompted as we began walking towards his place in the village.

I looked over to him, "Y-yeah Kakashi?" Worried that he might be having second thoughts about hanging out.

"If this makes you uncomfortable in any way, you don't have to do this...I'd hate to force you to hang out with me." he told me, his eyes full of worry. Was he...nervous that I didn't want to spend time with him?

I stopped, taking his hand and looking into his eyes. "Kakashi...I was worried you wouldn't want to hang out with me! You do not make me uncomfortable at all or I wouldn't have agreed to it!" I never expected him to be nervous as well, it was a little bit of a relief.

"You're kidding? What guy in their right mind would pass up an evening with a gorgeous- Uhh...w-with you." He corrected himself before finishing what he had started actually saying. That took me by surprise. "I'm glad you're not having second thoughts though. That's kind of a relief."

I giggled, squeezing his hand in mine. "Come on Kashi, let's get to your house! I promise it'll be an awesome night!" I couldn't stop myself from being so excited and I hoped he didn't find me annoying.

He chuckled at me and we made our way to his house. Once we got there, he invited me in and began prepping dinner. While he was doing that I took the liberty of wandering around and committing what the inside of Kakashi's place looked like to memory. "So, what would you like for dinner? Any requests?" He asked me, and I turned around to find that he had taken his headband and mask off and it was now sitting on the counter. Holy hell, he was a beautiful man!

I couldn't find my voice for a good few minutes, taking off my jacket and fanning myself. "S-surprise me, I have never tried your cooking before so I'm excited!"

He let out a small laugh, "You sure you're going to be able to handle this?" he asked me turning around and taking off his gray vest and hanging it on the back of a chair. "You know, you agreed to read the newest edition of Icha Icha with me. Would you like to start that tonight?"

I walked over, putting on his gray vest and sitting on the counter as he cooked, "yeah of course I can handle it! And I would love to start that. Maybe after dinner?"

"Sounds like a nice way to spend the rest of the night." he stated, pulling his fingerless gloves off with his teeth and setting them aside as he took some items out of his refrigerator. He spun around and stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide with surprise. "Wow…"

I cocked my head to the side, looking at him curiously, "What?" I asked confused to his reaction.

"N-nothing...It's just that, you look damn good on my counter." he replied, smirking at me as he walked back over and gave me a once over, "And in my clothes." he added as he began chopping meat next to me.

I chuckled, leaning closer to him. " And you look good when you're cooking." I kissed his cheek. "And without your mask on."

"You know...I think you're the only person in the entire village that has seen me without my mask. It makes me feel...vulnerable. It kind of feels good to be able to just be me without worrying about it. I guess I just...feel safe around you." he stated, and for the first time in the past two years that I had known him, I could actually see him blush. Holy hell was that a sight to see! God! This man was beautiful! In so many ways.

I giggled, fluffing his hair a little bit. "Kashi, you don't have to hide yourself around me. I want you to be comfortable and be yourself ok? C-can you please do that for me?"

"I can certainly try...as long as you don't hold back anymore either." he agreed, putting a stipulation on my request. "I can tell that...you're tense around me a lot. I hope I don't intimidate you." he stated, sincerely, putting the meat on the stove to cook.

"I...I don't mean to. It's not that you intimate me. I can't explain it honestly. But I promise that I'll try as well!" I state, hugging his vest closer to my body. He glanced up from what he was cooking and smiled at me softly.

"You sure like that vest. If you'd like, you can borrow that one. I have others." he stated, flipping the meat in the skillet to brown on the other side. "I hope you enjoy what I'm making for you." he added, sprinkling some spices on it.

"A-are you sure Kashi?" I asked jumping down and coming to stand next to him, giggling at our size difference. "And it smells amazing!"

"Sure I'm sure! You look better in it anyway, annoyingly enough." he replied, turning to face me and placing a hand on top of my head. "Huh...you're a lot shorter without your shoes." he pointed out and smirked down at me. "How cute."

I put my hands on my hips, "Kakashi! I am not that short!" I felt my cheeks heating up as I poked his stomach, hitting his belly button by chance. He jumped in reaction and hugged his torso, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Ah! How could you violate my body like that Asuki?" he questioned with wide eyes, sliding behind me to get to the cupboard to grab some plates, squeezing my hip on the way past. "I don't think you want to start this war." he laughed upon turning around to see my facial expression.

I bit my lip to hide the moan that wanted to escape. I breathed out heavily after a few minutes, "Kashi are you ticklish? Because that is a war I do want to start!" I giggled and hugged him from the side.

"Well if I was, I wouldn't tell you that." he commented, his face turning slightly red as he finished up preparing dinner, which was just a really juicy piece of steak that smelled amazing tasted like heaven.

I giggle, reaching up and pinching his cheek, "Oh dearest Kakashi, that's so cute!" I walk over and set the table, my hips swaying without my meaning to. I turn around notice Kakashi is staring at my ass. His eyes pop as soon as he realizes that he's been caught staring and his face turns incredibly red as he averts his eyes. "See something you like Kashi?" I ask coyly, winking at him and giggling.

"You know what, what if I do Asuki?" he asked me boldly, standing up straight and making his way over to me on the other side of the table as he places the food on the table in front of me. "What are you going to do about it?"

I smirk, motioning him over to me and waiting until he gets closer. I motion him down as if I'm going to tell him a secret and giggle. "This." I state, turning him to face me and kissing him softly. I pulled again gently and looked at him to read his face. It was so much easier to read his expressions without his faceguard.

He looked at me in sheer shock. It was as if he wasn't sure if this was reality or some cruel dream. I bit my lip nervously as I awaited his response, worried that I might have taken things a little too far. He didn't say anything. All he did was lean forward and press his perfect lips back to mine. "If I had known you were going to do that, I would have invited you over here a long time ago." he finally replied, his forehead still pressed against mine.

"Ka...Kakashi." I managed to utter a reply. This man was taking away my breath. Then Kakashi's lips curled up into a devious grin as he pulled away and made his way back to the other side of the table to serve the dinner he had made us.

"Or at least that's what I'd say if we were characters in Jiraya's books." he stated and my jaw dropped. Did he just fake me out? Was he messing with me?

I cross my arms over my chest, "Kakashi!" I pout as I sit down at the table, "I think if we were characters in his book, things would be a little more...well, past kissing."

He chuckles at me and sits down across from me. "Now that sounds like an interesting read." he comments, winking at me and taking a bite of the food in front of him. "Oh hey, speaking of hot and heavy, it's almost time for one of us to deliver Rin's note to Obito. You feel like tagging along?" he asks me and I look up at him from staring at my food too hard.

"I wouldn't mind at all, it could be a whole lot of fun to be honest, we could even make it a race." I blushed, as I began eating the food, which tasted absolutely heavily. "This is absolutely fantastic! Kakashi, you're an amazing cook!"

"Why thank you! But don't tell anyone. And that might be entertaining. Care to sweeten the pot?" he replied, propping and elbow on the table and looking back at me slyly.

"Hey, if I get this delicious food to myself, I promise I won't tell a soul!" I blush heavily as I look away from him, the feeling of butterflies driving me absolutely crazy! "Whatever do you mean Kakashi?"

"Well, as long as it's for you, I don't mind. And I just kind of thought wagers were our thing nowadays. Makes things more interesting. Name your reward and I'll wager mine." he smirked at me, taking another bite of his steak.

I bite my lip and think for a moment, blushing a little bit at my thought. "Whenever it's just the two of us, you can't wear a mask and you have to tell Jiraya that I'm his number one fan!"

"I'll do you one better. If you win, I'll introduce you to Jiraya. However, if I win...I get a second a second date." he replies after thinking for a moment. He bites his lip and looks at me nervously.

I giggle as I eat my food, looking into his eyes. "Alright, you have a deal sweetheart!" I wink at him, as I finish up my food, getting up to do the dishes. "I'll do the dishes then we can read or go deliver the note. Whichever you want to do!"

"Uh...actually, if you'd like to, we can go see Obito then come back and read some. You could stay the night if you want to. Since it'll probably be kind of late by the time we get back tonight." he suggested and I almost dropped my plate as soon as he said that.

"Y-you want me to spend the night?" I ask, stuttering a little as I look over at him. "I mean, would that be ok? We should probably let Rin know so she doesn't worry about me."

He bite his lip and nods in response. "I mean, y-you don't have to if you don't want to. And if you're worried about Rin, I'm sure she can manage for a night. We can talk to her when we go to pick up her letter." he explains, coming to stand behind me. "I hope you think I'm being too forward."

I walk over, lifting his chin and making him look at me. "Kakashi, I want to! I was just worried it would be strange right off the bat. I absolutely want to though!" I lean forward and kiss him softly. "My goodness, you worry a lot!"

"Well...I've never known a girl like you, Asuki." he replied, placing his hands on my hips and pressing me gently against the edge of the sink. He leans down and kisses me softly, reaching up to touch my cheek.

I giggle into the kiss and pull away. "Is that a good or bad thing, Kashi?" I ask, smiling up at him and batting my eyelashes.

"If you can't tell, there is something seriously wrong with you." he chuckles at me and moves a strand of my hair out of my face. "You don't have to do the dishes alone, you know. Why don't I help you and then we can get going before it gets too late into the evening." he offered, going back over to the table to retrieve his dishes and placing them in the sink. I ran some water and washed the dinner dishes and he dried and put them away.

I smile as we finish up the dishes and I look outside, "We definitely made good time with this, I'm impressed. We make an amazing team!"I giggle, bouncing happily and bringing him down to my level and kissing him softly. "Thank you for helping me!"

He grins and kisses me back picking me up and setting me on top of his kitchen counter as he continues to kiss me more deeply. "I happen to agree with you...care to get lost on the path of life with me," he leans in and whispers in my ear, "Asuki?"

I blush heavily, a shudder rushing through my body and I wrap my legs around him, giggling. "That is something Jiraya would put in his books, but I won't mind getting lost on that path….as long as it's with you." I gently play with his hair.

"You should know...once you travel down that path, it's harder to find your way back. Are you sure you're ready for this?" he asks me, leaning down and pressing his lips into the crook of my neck, causing another wave of want to shudder throughout my body.

I feel my head lean backwards, my eyes widening as a moan escapes my lips, causing me to blush hard. "I am absolutely sure Kakashi."

Kakashi began kissing down my neck, scraping his teeth gently over my skin as he trailed his way down my cleavage. He ran his hand along my thigh, lightly ghosting up my skirt and squeezing my hip. He brought his lips back to mine and kissed me harder, our breath synchronizing as my heart refused to stop fluttering.

I wrap myself further around him, pushing myself off of the counter, never breaking the kiss. My body was reacting so well against his and I gently moved my hand into his hair and tugging it. I finally pulled away, smirking at him. "Think you can make it to the couch or your bed?"

He grins deviously back at me picks me up, holding me by cupping my ass and brings me over the couch and lays me down, following me as he kisses me. "I'm sorry Asuki, this is the best I can do right now." he murmurs into my ear and then nips it, sliding his hand up my skirt once again and trailing his thumb along my pantiline.

I moan out louder than before, blushing as I realize the neighbors could probably hear me. He keeps nipping at my ear and his thumb slipping under my pantyline as I gasp, moaning uncontrollably. My heart about jumps out of my chest as there is a knock at the door and I jump up quickly, my eyes widening.

Kakashi groaned and stood up, running into the kitchen to grab his facemask and put it on before opening the door to reveal Asuma Sarutobi, one of Kakashi's old classmates. "Oh. Hello Asuma. What can I do for you?" Kakashi questioned, sounding slightly irritated that we had been interrupted.

"Hey there, Kakashi. I think this is yours. I found it on the steps of the Hokage's office...Oh! S-sorry, is this a bad time?" Asuma questioned, handing Kakashi his red and white anbu mask as he, poked is head in to see me standing a few feet behind Kakashi. Asuma adopted the smuggest smirk I had ever seen in my life. It almost made me need to fan myself. Asuma was, in my opinion, one of the sexiest guys in the Leaf. Other than Kakashi, of course.

"H-hey there Asuma." I blush heavily, waving shyly as I straighten myself up and realizing I'm wearing Kakashi's jacket. "What are you doing here?" I ask curiously.

"Oh, you know. Just returning something Kakashi so irresponsibly misplaced. Although, now I see why you were in such a hurry to rush off after that meeting with the Hokage." he states, elbowing Kakashi in the ribs playfully. Oh, he was definitely on to us.

I blush heavily, rubbing the back of my neck and giggling. "You were in a rush huh?" I ask Kakashi curiously and bite my lip.

"W-well, you know. Path of life and everything." Kakashi states, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"You know, Kakashi. She's way out of your league." Asuma comments, looking over at me and winking in my direction. "If you find you're not satisfied here, you can always pay me a visit later." Kakashi's one eye squinted as he glared at Asuma, his fist clenching.

I look at him, my mouth dropping open as I blush heavily and then to Kakashi. "I um...I'm good thanks." I give him a small smile as I wrap my arms around Kakashi. "One man of mystery is good enough for me." I wink at him and giggle.

Asuma grins genuinely. "Yes, I can see that. Oh well, can't blame a guy for trying. Sorry to disturb you two. Details later, Kakashi." he winks at him as he bids us adue. Kakashi slams the door as Asuma walks off.

I nuzzle against his side and squeeze him against me. "You ok sweetheart?" I ask curiously, looking up at him.

He pulls down his mask and grins softly at me. "I am now." he replies, pressing his lips against mine possessively. "He was right, that you're out of my league." he says to me, his eyes sad. "I don't deserve to love someone like you."

I kiss him back, pulling away to look at him. "I think that is for me to decide Kakashi and to be honest, I always thought you would be out of my league and wouldn't see me like this." I look away biting my lip, before looking back at him. "D-did you say love?" I blush heavily and giggle, kissing him again.

"Are you serious? You're gorgeous, exceptionally skilled, and brilliant. To tell the truth, I've always repressed my feelings because I thought you deserved better. I mean...there's things you don't know about me. Who I actually am. And...did I say love? Oh well...perhaps I did." he replied, rubbing the back of his neck nervously once more.

I take his hand and gently bite his knuckle, "I know it's early, but I mean we have known each other for two years now. I think...I think it's safe to say. Because I...I love you too." I blush heavily, looking up at him shyly. "As for the things I don't know about you, I can't wait to learn all about them!"

"You know, every part of me is telling me to whisk you away for a wonderful night locked in my bedroom. But the responsible part of me is telling me that we should get going back to your place to fulfill our promise to our friends." he smiled down at me.

I get on my tip toes, kissing him softly on the lips. "Well Kashi, let's wash up and then head out to my house to get Rin's letter. Thank you again for the first part of our date, I really enjoyed your cooking and just spending time with you. Back home, most people don't really try to get close to me or my brother since we are from the head family and...being in the Leaf has been a wonderful change of pace."

"Oh? Head family you say? Well...does that mean I'm dating a princess?" he smirks back at me, pulling his mask back over his face and pointing down the hall. "Bathrooms on the left." he states, taking his vest off of my hands and putting it back on. I smile as I head down the hall towards the bathroom. Did...did he just say we were dating?

I blush heavily, "Thank you, but I am far from a princess. Honestly, I'm the second born so my run for head of house will never happen. It goes to my older brother, then to his daughter and honestly I am perfectly fine with that. I have always wanted to do more ninja based things rather than running a huge household and being stuck."

"It is quite liberating." he states as he continues to get dressed. I went into the bathroom and cleaned myself up. As soon as I looked in the mirror I noticed a dark mark on my neck by my collarbone. Shit! Kakashi had given me one hell of a hickey. How was going to explain that to Rin? She was sure to notice. I finished up in the bathroom and made my way back out to see Kakashi all ready and standing at the door. "Ready?" his eye squinted up, insinuating he was smiling behind his mask at me. I bit my lip and giggled slightly, joining him as we set out to see Rin.

I give him a pouty look and pointed to my neck, "Kakashi," I whined at him, "you gave me a huge hickey!" I pulled him closer to me, pulling his mask down and kissing him. "I will have to get you back for that later."

"I look forward to the challenge." he smirks back at me and squeezes my hip. I let out a squeal and he recovers his face with his mask. "Come on you, I'm sure Rin is getting antsy. Keep distracting me and she's going to be pissed that I'm super late tonight." he replies, wrapping his arm around my waist and directing me towards the streets of the Leaf Village.

I blush heavily and take his hand in mine, squeezing it happily. "Hey you're the distraction Mr. Hatake!" I begin noticing how many people were staring at us in shock and surprise...and jealousy from some of the women who found Kakashi attractive. Oh boy, I had a feeling I would run back into them at some point. Yippee for me!

"Oh, I'm the distraction? I don't think you're the one getting all the glares." he murmurs. Now that he had said something, Kakashi was getting some pretty mean looks from some of the guys in the village as well. Oh jealousy is such a green monster! I giggled at him and clung to him tighter. "Hey Asuki...thank you. For today. I'm glad I won our wager earlier." he added.

I look up at him blushing, "You know, if we are dating, we technically don't need the wagers. Though they do make things interesting and fun!"I state, biting my lip. "I mean...are we dating? You said it earlier and I just...wanted to confirm." I hide my face against his side.

"As long as you want me, I'm yours Asuki." he replies, stopping in the middle of the street and pulling me up against him. He slides his mask down and places another gentle kiss to my lips. "I'm glad you came back to the Leaf." he states, resting his forehead against mine.

I make sure that his face is covered from others around us a I giggle, "Of course I want you silly Kakashi!" I pull his mask back up and hug him tightly. "I'm so glad that I was able to come back too, I just didn't expect it to be so eventful!"

"Oh? And why's that?" he asked me as we started moving again, getting closer to mine and Rin's place. "You make the Leaf sound so anticlimactic. Is you home village that impressive?"

I hold my hands up and shake my head. "I meant, when I first got the letter from Hokage, I kinda figured it would have been to raise my rank here and become a teacher. As for my home village, it has its perks, but it is the anticlimactic one."

"You...want to become a teacher?" he asks me, raising his eyebrow at me. "That would be interesting to see." he states as we walk up to the front door of mine and Rin's house.

I blush heavily, rubbing the back of my neck. "I mean, it's a big dream of mine. We don't do teams or any of that back home. So the idea of actually leading kids in a team would be phenomenal."

"I don't know...Sounds like a big headache." Kakashi replies as I open the door and let wave him inside. "Kids seem like a lot of responsibility. Oh, but I'm sure you'll be a fantastic teacher!" he says as Rin come running downstairs.

I instantly cover up my neck where the hickey is and smile at her. "Hey Rin, how's your day been?" I asked curiously, leaning against the wall. How on earth was I going to tell her? Ahhh, there's so many things I have to say and I don't know where to start.

"Hey you two! You guys look cozy...Everything alright with your neck there Asuki?" she asked me, coming into the kitchen. "Kakashi didn't bite you or anything did he?" she laughs, joking around but she didn't know how close she was to the truth.

"Well…" I blush, moving my hand slowly away from my neck. "Yeah that's one way of putting it." I waited, watching for her reaction.

He eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped in disbelief. "Kakashi! You dog!" she exclaimed, "If you hurt my Asuki, I swear you're going to pay for it!" she threatened, rolling up the letter in her hand and sticking it his face pointedly. He raises his hands in surrender and looks slightly terrified.

"He won't hurt me, I'll make sure of it. He...we decided that we were going to d-date." I stutter, blushing heavier. I take the letter and hug her tightly, "I promise we will be good!"

She wipes away the tears in her eyes and smiles back at me. "I'm so happy for you both! I hope Obito returns soon so we can have a double date!" she exclaims, turning to Kakashi and places her fist against his chest and stares down at the floor. "Kakashi...take good care of my best friend." she whispers softly.

I come over, hugging her tightly and smiling. "Thank you for being a amazing friend! And we can so go out for ramen together, all of the ramen in the world!" I was honestly so excited to have her support in this, that meant the world to me. Granted, if my parents came to visit, I don't know if they would approve.

"It better be some damn good ramen." she states, looking up at us with more tears streaming down her face. "Gah! Why am I so emotional!"

"Time of the month?" Kakashi and I both ask at the same time, looking from you to each other and blushing. That was a first, which was incredibly creepy...I don't know if I want that to happen again.

"Yeah...don't do that again, okay?" she states, looking at us with all of the concern in the world. "You two should hurry along, if you plan on making it out to the foundation before sundown." she points out, going over and handing me my jacket. "Try not to dawdle too much. And don't worry, I won't wait up for you." she states, winking at me which meant that she was okay with me staying overnight at Kakashi's.

"We won't dawdle, I promise and your note will get there safely! Want us to give Obito a hug from you?"I ask curiously, taking Kakashi's hand in mine, running my thumb over his hand. "And we are going to read the latest book and relax!" I say excitedly.

"Told you that book would bring you two together." she replies, winking at me. "And if you want to. I doubt if Kakashi would swallow his pride long enough to deliver such a hug. So I guess I'm counting on you, Asuki." she states, blushing slightly and looking down at our hands and her face falls slightly. "I miss him, you know…"

I bite my lip, looking down. "I know you do sweetheart, he shouldn't be to much longer and I know that he's probably missing you just as much as you do him. And once you two are back together, I know you'll be attached at the lips...I mean hips."I blush heavily, giggling a little bit. "Sorry slip of the tongue."

"Oh, I'm sure there will be plenty of that too." Kakashi comments and Rin's face goes from lightly pink to a deep red in an instant. I can't believe he just said that in front of her!

"Kakashi!" I exclaim, pushing him playfully. "You be nice!" I shook my head and laughed lightly at the situation. I was friends with the most amazing and strange people in the world and I loved every second of it. Nothing about what I had gone through over the last two years had been boring and I felt like I was learning more about myself in a group then I did on all of my years in my village. Strange, because they were like me back home, but I felt more wanted in this village. Life had a strange way of showing you a path and putting you on it.

"Y-you two should get going. Hold on Kakashi...before you leave. I have something for you." she states, running into the bathroom quickly and shuffling through the closet for something. Kakashi looked at me in curiosity. I just shrugged. Rin was my best friend but I had no idea where she was going with this. Rin started talking before she reappeared, "He made me promise to give this to you in case you ever started seeing anyone as payback." she called out, throwing a small box with the words 'Pleasure Pack' written in bright orange words across the front. Oh my god! Were those condoms? "Courtesy of Obito." she proclaimed, leaning against the doorframe and smirking at him.

"Why thank you, I am sure these will come in handy once we are both ready to have lots and lots of sex!" Kakashi chuckles at her, making me blush hard and take the box from him. "Hey!"

"I'll just hold onto these, I don't want to wake up to you making balloons out of them!"I say teasingly, winking at him and poking his nose. "I'll be sure to thank him, though I'm sure we both are gonna get teased tremendously by him once he finds out."

"You have no idea. He's been waiting this long. Especially when he finds out I fell for you...he's been telling me from the damn beginning." he sighs and stretches both hands behind his head. "Oh well, can't really avoid the 'I-told-you-so's.' Are you ready to head out?" he asks me and I nod.

"I'm sure it won't be that bad, think of it like pulling a bandaid. Better to get it over with than to lolligag!"I chuckle, playing with his hair a little. "Yes I'm ready to head out!" I state, looking at Rin and hugging her tightly. "Please don't get into any trouble while I'm away!"

"Pshh, me? Trouble? I think you're the one we need to worry about." she says winking at Kakashi. "Don't do anything I wouldn't doooo." she sang as she rushed us out the door. I laughed and looked down at the letter she had written for Obito in my hand. She shut the door and Kakashi and I started towards the village gates. I began to get a little curious as to what kinds of things her and Obito wrote about. I pondered upon this until I caught Kakashi looking at me funny.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" I asked him, wiping at my face and not feeling anything on it. I pouted and looked at him curiously, running a hand through my hair. "What is it Kakashi!?"

He chuckled at me and replied, "You just looked like you had something on your mind. You got super quiet for a minute. Is everything alright? You've been staring at Rin's letter this whole time." he questioned and I bit my lip, unsure of how to respond. I didn't want him to think I was nosy.

I bite my lip, putting it away and blushing. "I've just always found it curious to what Obito and Rin always write to one another. I know it's nosey as hell, but I've always wondered about it."

"You know, I've kind of always wondered that too…" he looks over at me deviously. "I won't tell if you don't." he replies, smiling beneath his mask slyly. "Care to settle the curiosity?"

"Kashi, she trusts us with it...I don't wanna betray that, but I also have this curiosity that wants to find out. Does that make me a bad friend?" I ask quietly, rubbing my arm nervously.

"Hey, we've been doing this weekly for them for almost two years and haven't indulged once. Besides, what she doesn't know won't hurt her right? It's not like we're going to publish them or anything." he states. "But if you really don't want to, I won't force you. It doesn't make you a bad friend. That just makes you a caring one." he replied, wrapping his arm around me for comfort. I looked down at it again and thought for a moment. "It's killing you though, isn't it? I can see it on your face."

I blush heavily and nod, looking up at him. "It really is, believe me I want to...fine this one time and never again ok? And we absolutely keep it between the both of us!" I state, getting the letter out and holding it up.

I unfolded the letter to reveal Rin's handwriting. The letter was constructed rather formally. Rin was always the type of person to do things properly. The letter began with,

_My Dear Obito,_

_I hope you're doing well out at the foundation. To be honest, I'm aware that you're supposed to be returning to the village soon. But I can't help but to feel rather anxious about it. I know how strict things are out there and I guess I'm just worried that I won't be getting the same boy back that left almost two years ago. I know I saw you for one night before you left. But after having thought you were gone for two years prior just makes it feel like it was an amazing dream. But I have faith that you'll come back to me someday soon. _

_Things have been going rather well here in the village, having two of my three best friends on my team and on my side has been amazing. You'd be proud of how much we all have grown, granted you do get to see Kakashi and Asuki whenever they drop off my messages. They have been growing closer and I think they are going to admit that they like one another. Feel free to tease them whenever you see them, cause it's always fun to watch them get all nervous!_

_Also, I think that's a great idea. I'll definitely buy a box and tell Kakashi that it's from you. Of course, I have to wait for the perfect timing. When they finally decide to be together. I'll be sure to write you his response in the next letter. I'm almost certain they're both going to break before then...Also, if Asuki tries to tell you I was having a naughty dream about you, don't listen to her! She can't prove anything! _

_To inquire about what you put in your last letter, I absolutely love the idea for that date. Something about eating a picnic behind a waterfall sounds extremely romantic and I would love to experience that. I've been getting a little stir crazy without you around, I really am sorry that I haven't visited since getting all healed up. I have been busy with missions and any time I'm not, I just...I don't want to be a distraction. I hope that makes sense, I will definitely try to visit you whenever things aren't so crazy. _

_I'm sure things haven't been exactly easy out there either. The foundation is a tough organization. The training must be brutal. But I know you're tough enough to handle anything. I have no doubt in my mind that you'll be the Hokage some day. _

_Until we meet again,_

_With Love,_

_Rin_

_P.S.- They got together! I can't believe it and I'm so very happy for them! Also Kakashi was very suave about the condoms, while Asuki was in complete shock about all of it. Tease them mercilessly and enjoy it! Told you I'd find Kakashi a girlfriend!_

My jaw dropped by the time I had finished reading it. I looked up at Kakashi who was reading over my shoulder to see his eye bug out after finishing the letter. "That little! She's going to get it back tenfold." he commented.

I put the letter away, taking his hand and giggling. "Remember, we can't know anything about the letter, that was the deal. And it isn't so bad honestly, it could have been so much worse and I truly hope that she actually will go visit him. It's strange, because we haven't been having that many missions where she couldn't go."

"She told me she was going to see him just the other day...I wonder if she got too nervous and chickened out. Huh...I wonder why she would lie to him like that." Kakashi added and I looked back down at the letter and folded it back up.

"She just...she probably doesn't mean to lie to him about it. I will have to ask her in a way where she won't know that I read it. I'm so worried about her sometimes." I sigh, squeezing his hand in mine. "Let's get going handsome."

"I worry about her too. But I'm sure she'll be fine with you here to take care of her." he stated, intertwining our fingers. We made it to the gates of the village and took off towards the foundation, racing like we had wagered. Long story short, I had won by a fraction of a second but Kakashi wouldn't admit that I had beat him. So to compromise we both just decided to lose the bet.

Obito read Rin's letter after hugging us both sincerely. He laughed once he finished it and teased us mercilessly like Rin had told him to. He definitely took great pleasure in doing so. Kakashi's entire face was just emotionless while I felt like mine was going to melt. Kakashi was always so good at keeping his cool in front of his best friend. After our visit to Obito, we finally made it back home past dark and fell asleep cuddled up on the couch reading the newest edition of Jiraya's books together. It was pure heaven.


End file.
